The 100 Arrival Day
by ThaliaGrace318
Summary: 100 prisoners sent on a desperate mission to the ground. Among them are Thalia Grace, imprisoned from childhood, yet still finding a way to come out on top; Emily Kane, daughter of the Vice Chancellor, a fighter through and through; Iris Glass, too sweet to survive, or stronger than she looks?
1. We Call It The Skybox

**The 100 - Arrival Day**

_I feel the sun on my face. I see trees all around me, the scent of wildflowers on a breeze. It's so beautiful. In this moment, I'm not stranded in space._

_It's been 97 years since a nuclear apocalypse killed everyone on Earth, leaving the planet simmering in radiation. Fortunately, there were survivors. Twelve nations had operational space stations at the time of the bombs. There is now only the Ark, one station forged from the many._

_We're told that the Earth needs another 100 years to become survivable again; four more space-locked generations and man can go home, back to the ground. The ground, that's the dream. This is reality. Reality sucks!_

_On the Ark any crime, no matter how small, is punishable by death, unless you're under 18. Juvenile offenders are confined, put in lock-up, Prison Station. We call it the Skybox._

* * *

**Chapter 1 – We Call It The Skybox**

Within the Skybox, in a sparse two person cell, the only sound that could be heard was the scratching of a piece of charcoal against the floor. A girl sat between the two bunks in the room, her blonde hair pulled back into a braid, all her attention on the image she was creating. The scene was of someone standing among trees looking up at the night sky. Clarke Griffin was absorbed in her art, wondering what the sky really looked like from the ground, if her imagination was close to the real thing. Her cellmate, Thalia Grace, looked over from where she was laying on her bunk to see what Clarke had drawn this time.

"Pretty," she said. "You better be careful though. We're running out of wall space." Then she went back to staring at the stars through the skylight in the roof.

Clarke gave a small smile at Thalia's sarcasm, as though running out of things to draw on was their biggest concern. It was true though; the walls and floor of their cell were covered in Clark's drawings, sketches of plants, animals, old buildings. Thalia appreciated Clarke's talent, especially as it gave her something to look at other than the blank cell walls. To Thalia the worst part about being in lock-up was the amount of shear boredom. Aside from basic schooling, meal time and the meager amount of time that they were allowed for recreation, they were stuck in their cells. Thalia sometimes amused herself by throwing small pieces of metal that she fashioned into darts at a target that Clarke had drawn on their cell door. After years of practice she never missed.

Thalia had been put in the Skybox when she was nine years old and in the eight and a half years since then had often wondered if she could die of boredom or sensory deprivation, and if that wouldn't be better than waiting to be executed when she turned 18, which wasn't too far away now.

_Not too far away for Clarke either_, she thought. The two girls had lived lives as different as they could be on the Ark, but they had known each other before Clarke was confined a year ago. Clarke's mother was the Ark's Chief Medical Officer and Thalia's doctor when she had spent two years in and out of the hospital for an immune deficiency starting when she was five.

She still saw Dr. Griffin from time to time when bouts of weakness or sickness came up. The infirmary had the medication that could make her better, but she had not been allowed any of it aside from the most common since she had been confined. The medicine was saved for the law abiding citizens, while Thalia had to get by on diet and exercise prescribed by Dr. Griffin, along with a few synthetic vitamins, to keep her healthy.

The few times that Thalia has met with Dr. Griffin in the last few years had been much like what she remembered from her childhood. Dr. Griffin was kind but firm and also sincere, unlike so many other people at her level. Clarke took after her mother, not just in looks, but in demeanor; she was focused, kind and plainly honest, and she also had her mother's talent for healing people, making them better. When Thalia had had to stay in the hospital for weeks at a time when she was a child she often saw Clarke trailing after her mother, watching and learning from her. When they ended up sharing a cell Thalia learned that Clarke had started training as a doctor as well. Thalia was more than a little surprised when the girl who used to visit her in the hospital ended up as her cellmate in the Skybox seven years later. Clark's mother had an important position on the Ark, not only as Chief Medical Officer but also as a member of the council that ran the Ark. Someone with those kinds of connections can usually find a way out of whatever trouble they get into. Whatever the reason, Thalia decided to see her new cellmate as an opportunity. All juvenile criminals are reviewed when they turned 18 and may be pardoned for their crimes depending on what the council decides. No one had been pardoned in the last year, but having a friend whose mother is on the council could be useful.

Having spent half her life in the Skybox, Thalia knew almost everything about almost everyone in it. She knew who deserved to be locked up, whose crimes were petty or out of desperation, and who had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time or had angered the wrong people. Being a councilwoman's daughter, Clarke grew up in a more privileged life than most of the people in lock-up, and of course there were those who resented her for it, and for her connection to the council that put them there.

So Thalia made it her job to watch out for Clarke against the troublemakers and real criminals in lock-up, a job made easier by the fact that almost everyone in lock-up knew who Thalia was too. She had her own connections within their confined little world. Clarke was nobody's fool though. She knew why Thalia watched out for her. Even so the girls had developed a genuine friendship over time until they trusted each other enough to tell each other the real reasons that they had been confined.

Clarke, still lost in her own thoughts, suddenly came to attention when Thalia sat up on her bed, smoothing down her short, spiky black hair, and looked at the door. Clarke didn't hear anything out of place, but Thalia always seemed to know when something was happening.

The cell door swung open and two guards stepped in, one looking like a new recruit whose uniform didn't quite fit, and the other one older, more experienced. "Prisoners 3-1-8 and 3-1-9 stand up and face the wall," he said.

Both girls stood, Thalia giving the younger guard a hard glare which made him flinch before facing the wall. The cold look in her electric blue eyes unnerved most people.

"What is this?" Clarke asked.

"Quiet. Hold out your right arm," the older guard ordered.

Clarke looked behind them to see the guard taking something out of a metal box. It looked like a metal cuff with needles on the inside of it.

"No," Clarke said, her light blue eyes shifting between the two guards. "No, it's not my time. You're early, neither one of us is 18 yet!"

"Hold out your arm," the guard ordered again, while his partner drew his shock baton, an electrified baton which was used to subdue prisoners.

"No, just check our files, you'll see," Clarke said as the guards come towards them. "You're early, you'll see that!"

Clarke was afraid now. Thalia was curious. One thing that was always consistent in the Skybox was that the guards followed protocol. She had never heard of anyone being executed before their time (unless they'd made a major infraction), and what were the wristbands for. She didn't know what was happening and one thing Thalia hated was not knowing - it didn't happen often.

"Take off the watch," the older guard ordered, moving towards Clarke first with one of the metal cuffs.

"No, it was my father's!" Clarke drew her hand back protectively and backed away from the guard.

"Take it off," he ordered impatiently, grabbing her arm.

"No!" Clarke shouted, trying to pull away but the guard did not let go.

Thalia had stayed quiet so far, waiting to find out what was going on, but one thing she hated more than not knowing, was seeing someone hurt her friend.

"Let her go!" Thalia said angrily. When the guard turned his attention to her she responded with a punch to the throat that left him gasping. The second guard came at them with his shock baton to subdue them. The younger guard was inexperienced, and Clarke was able to grab the arm holding the baton and push it back towards him, the electric jolt dropping him to the floor. Both girls ran through the cell door, slamming it shut behind them.

The Skybox, true to its name, was built like a giant cube with cells along the walls and the center hollow so that when you stepped up to the rail you could see the upper and lower levels. And from what Clarke and Thalia could see, every cell was being opened; all of the prisoners were being ushered out by guards, most of them already outfitted with the metal wristbands.

"What the hell?" Clarke whispered.

XX

In another cell, a young girl sat on her bunk brushing out her light blonde hair and singing softly to herself. Iris Glass was also watching her cellmate, who was at the back wall of their cell in a handstand with her legs crossed as if she were sitting, her long hair making a pool of black silk on the floor beneath her. Her cellmate had her eyes closed and had been like that for some time. _How does she do that?_ Glass thought, wondering how she had the strength or the patience for it.

"My mom does yoga," said Glass.

Emily opened her eyes and looked at the upside down image of her cellmate, who was also one of her best friends. Glass smiled at her and went back to singing. Emily smiled too and closed her eyes again, listening. Glass had a beautiful voice and singing a familiar children's song, it brought them both back to happier times.

That illusion was shattered by the cell door opening. Two guards walked in and one of them said, "Prisoners 3-1-6 and 3-1-7, stand and face the wall." Glass quickly tucked her hair brush into her pocket and stood up.

Emily was not as quick to comply. She opened her eyes and said lazily, "Mind if I get dressed first?" She was wearing only her underwear, but sweat glistened on her skin from the exertion of holding that position for the last hour. Emily smoothly uncrossed her legs and came out of her handstand, gracefully coming to her feet, not the least bit self-conscious. Her muscles moved easily, accustomed to the physical strain.

Emily picked her cloths up from where they were neatly folded on her bunk and casually slipped on her pants, shirt, jacket and boots, pulled her long hair into a ponytail and put her cross necklace around her neck before doing as the guard ordered.

One of the guards opened a case that had some kind of metal bracelets inside, bracelets that had needles in them. Glass looked at Emily, afraid. Were the guards here to kill them? Emily shook her head no. The council wouldn't waste medical resources on killing prisoners with lethal injections – prisoners to be executed were floated, shot out of an airlock into space – and even if they would, it was not their time yet. There was still three weeks to Emily's birthday, and while she wouldn't have been too surprised if her father had ordered them to get it over with, Glass didn't turn eighteen until _next_ year.

"Prisoner 3-1-6, hold out your right arm," one of the guards ordered Glass.

Glass tensed and took a step back from them. Emily reached over to take her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Emily knew that Glass was spunky, but she was also small and sweet looking with a petite frame and the kind of face that made people want to protect her, including Emily. It wouldn't protect her from the guards though if she didn't do what they said. Emily didn't know what was happening, and she didn't trust guards. She also wasn't afraid of the guards, she could handle herself, but Glass could get hurt. Emily nodded to Glass to do what they said.

Glass held out her arm, still fearful, and the guard closed one of the bracelets over her wrist. "Ow," Glass said wincing as the needles went into her arm.

Then the guard turned to Emily. "Prisoner 3-1-7, hold out your right arm," he ordered coming towards her with another bracelet while his partner stood by with a hand on his weapon. In the months that Emily had been in the Skybox she'd earned a reputation among the guards. But she made no move, not even a wince, as the guard closed the bracelet over her wrist and the needles went through her skin.

XX

"Prisoner 3-1-9!" The guard Thalia punched was coming out of the cell behind them, his voice a little horse, but furious. They turned to run when another voice called out.

"Clarke, stop!" Councilwoman Dr. Abigail Griffin.

The guard grabbed Thalia's arm roughly. Thalia probably could have brought him down again, but with the entire cellblock swarmed with guards there was no point. She let him lead her away. When another guard advanced on Clarke, Dr. Griffin ordered him back, "Wait here."

"Mom, what's going on? What is this?" Clarke asked fearfully as her mother embraced her. Looking over her mother's shoulder Clarke saw the cell next to hers being opened and two girls being led out. They had metal cuffs on their wrists and looked as confused as all the other prisoners.

When one of them - a girl with Asian features and strait black hair pulled into a ponytail that fell past her waist - saw Clarke she tried to pull away from the guard.

"Clarke, what's happening?" she called out before the guards pulled her away in the other direction.

"Emily!" Clarke said, even more fearful now seeing one of her oldest friends being led away. She turned back to her mother. "They're killing us all aren't they? Reducing population to make more time for the rest of you."

"Clarke, listen to me. You are not being executed," Dr. Griffin said putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "You're being sent to the ground, all one-hundred of you."

"What?" Clarke said stunned; it took her a moment before she continued, "But…it's not safe. No, we get reviewed at 18."

"The rules have changed. This gives you a chance to live." Her mother rubbed her arm trying to comfort her. "Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, just like your father. But be careful, I can't lose you too. I love you so much." She rested her hand on her daughter's cheek.

Clarke heard a low pop and felt a sting in her shoulder. One of the guards shot her with a tranqu dart. Dr. Griffin held onto her daughter and lowered her to the floor as the drug put her to sleep.

"Earth, Clarke. You get to go to Earth," she said, cradling her daughter in her arms like when she was small, and wishing that she could keep her there always.

**XXXXX**

Thalia was led by a guard to a line of other prisoners going into a hanger bay. Thalia scanned the faces of the prisoners around her, looking for a few faces in particular. She recognized most of them, and the range of expressions they wore varied from fear, through anxiety, confusion, excitement...

At the moment Thalia felt mostly annoyed, at the metal cuff on her wrist and the sting of the needles going into her arm - she hated needles, they reminded her too much of her time in the hospital - and at the guard who still had a vice grip on her arm. It was the same guard that she had punched in the cell.

As the line moved further into the hanger bay the prisoners gasped at the dropship that was waiting to be launched, that they were being led into. There was a commotion in the line ahead as one of the prisoners panicked at the notion of being sent to Earth, a sure death sentence from what they had always been told. Prisoners started pushing, shouting and asking questions all at once. In the moment of chaos Thalia saw another opportunity.

When another prisoner was pushed in to her, she pushed against the guard still standing next to her and they both fell over. When the guard pushed her off she slipped his gun from its holster and tucked it under her shirt. Everyone else was too stirred up to notice, and the guard was busy trying not to get trampled. More guards came forward to control the crowd and get them back into line. Someone else came forward as well.

"Hold on," said Dr. Griffin as Thalia was being pushed back into the line. "This one is a patient of mine. Give us a minute." Dr. Griffin led Thalia away from the crown, out of sight of the guards, before she stopped. "I have something for you," she said pulling a small pack out of her pocket. She opened it slightly to show Thalia what was inside: syringes and vials of medicine. Thalia knew exactly what kind of medicine it was and that she would most likely need it. She also knew that people like her weren't worth wasting meds on, not to the council.

"You could be arrested for giving me this," she said. "What do you want for it?"

"I looked at your records Thalia. I know what you were arrested for, and the incidents that have happened while you've been in lock-up."

"What's your point?" Thalia asked warily.

"I also know that you and Clarke are friends," Dr. Griffin said taking Thalia's left wrist where she wore a simple bracelet with coloured beads on it. Thalia remembered the day she got that bracelet. They were releasing her from the hospital when she was seven saying that she had a clean bill of health as long as she took her meds, which back then were freely available to her. Clarke was with her mother in the hospital that day and gave Thalia her bracelet as a gift. That was the last time Thalia had seen Clarke before they ended up sharing a cell a year ago. Thalia didn't know why she had held onto the bracelet all this time. Maybe because it was one of the only gifts she'd ever gotten.

"This is yours," Dr. Griffin continued, holding up the med kit, "as long as you promise me one thing."

"I'm listening," Thalia said, eyeing the med kit.

"Look after Clarke, watch out for her, keep her safe," Thalia could see all the worry and pain in Dr. Griffin's eyes. She was terrified for her daughter, for what Clarke might have to face on Earth, not just from the unfamiliar land but also from the people she was being sent with. To Thalia it just seemed like she was being asked to do more of what she'd been doing for the last year, only for a different prize – Protect someone who could be an asset to her, and play her fellow prisoners to her advantage.

"I won't let anything happen to Clarke," she told Dr. Griffin. "You have my word." Thalia had always been good at choosing friends who were useful to her but this time her choice was made from sympathy rather than just to get what she wanted; not an emotion she was accustomed to feeling. Dr. Griffin knew that Thalia was a lot of things, but she had known her since she was a little girl, and Thalia had never been a liar. She handed Thalia the med kit, knowing that she was giving Clarke the only protection that she could. Thalia put the med kit in the inside pocket of her jacket and followed Dr. Griffin back to the guards.

As she was being ushered into the dropship Thalia saw one of the faces she had been looking for: a young man wearing a black uniform – a guard, not a prisoner – Luke Castellan. No guards were being sent with them on this odyssey; there would be no chance to say goodbye. Luke held her gaze for as long as he could until she was led out of sight.

Thalia ended up strapped into a seat next to Clarke who looked like she was just waking up from a tranqu dose. She knew from experience that Clarke would have a headache. Thalia felt her stolen gun press into her back and the weight of the med kit in her pocket. Looking at Clarke, Thalia knew that she would have done whatever she could to protect her even if Dr. Griffin had not paid for it. Clarke was a friend, a real friend. Thalia didn't have too many of those. As the dropship was ejected from the Ark and started to move through space, Thalia fingered the beaded bracelet on her left wrist thinking that if they survived, they were going to need all the friends they could get.


	2. Prisoners Of The Ark

Chapter 2 - Prisoners Of The Ark

The first thing Clarke noticed when she woke up was a pounding headache. The second thing she noticed was the ache caused by the needles in her wrist band, which only hurt worse when she tried to adjust it.

"Ow," she said still groggy.

"You Ok?" asked a voice to her left. Clarke saw Thalia strapped into the seat next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Welcome back," the voice to her right brought Clarke fully alert, and she turned to face the boy sitting beside her. Wells Jaha was tall and dark skinned, with a muscular build and a soldier's haircut. And the sight of him made Clarke furious.

"Wells, why the hell are you here?!"

"When I found out they were sending prisoners to the ground I got myself arrested," Wells said holding up his wrist to show that he was also wearing a wristband, "I came for you."

"How sweet," a sarcastic voice commented. Clarke looked around Wells and saw her friend Emily in the next seat, and on Emily's other side was her cellmate Iris - another old friend - who went by her last name, Glass. "Looks like the gangs all here."

Just then the drop ship shook violently, drawing gasps and a few screams from the nervous passengers.

"What was that?" Glass asked tensely.

"That was the atmosphere," Emily answered.

Monitors on the walls suddenly lit up and an image of the Ark's Chancellor appeared; a recorded message began playing. "Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now. You've been given a second chance. And as your Chancellor it is my hope that you will see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us. Indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better we would have sent others. Frankly we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable..."

"They are so full of it," Emily said bitterly. "No offence," she added to Wells. Wells shrugged. He knew she wasn't just talking about the Chancellor.

"Your dad's a dick Wells," a boy somewhere behind them shouted.

"...If however you do survive," Chancellor Jaha's message continued, "Your crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean. A drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people for up to two years. No one ever made it there. Because we could spare you no food, water or medicine, I cannot stress strongly enough that Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately."

Clarke was distracted from the video message by cheering from the other side of the ship.

"Check it out!"

"Yeah, Finn!"

Clarke saw that a boy had unstrapped his harness and was floating in midair above the seats. He did a backflip which propelled him across the drop ship and came to rest in front of Clarke's row.

"Spacewalker Bandit strikes again!" Emily said with a laugh.

"Check it out," the boy, Finn, said to Wells. "Your dad floated me after all."

Wells wasn't amused, "You should strap in before the parachutes deploy."

"You two, stay put if you want to live!" a brunette girl sitting in the row across from Clarke shouted to two boys who were starting to unbuckle their harnesses. When the girl glanced around, Clarke saw that she had different coloured eyes, one blue and one green.

"Hey, you're the terrorist they put in solitary for a year, the child genius," Finn said to the girl with odd eyes. "Antonia Sinclair, right?"

"And you're the idiot who wasted a three months of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk," she replied harshly, not bothering to confirm her name.

"It was fun," Finn's tone implied that he thought that was reason enough to do anything. "I'm Finn," he introduced himself, reaching out his hand while still floating.

Antonia ignored him; Clarke listened to the close of the Chancellor's message. "You have one job, one responsibility: stay alive. Finally, I'm sure you're wondering about those wristbands..."

The boys that Antonia had warned were now fully unstrapped and staring to rise above their seats. "Stay in your seats!" she warned them again.

Suddenly the entire drop ship jerked hard to the side as it was pulled violently off course, and Finn and the other boys were slammed into the walls, one of them dislodging a bunch of cables that started throwing out sparks.

"That was the parachutes," said Antonia, who knew the engineering of a drop ship, trying to calm those who were panicking.

"Finn, are you OK?!" Clarke shouted, trying to see where Finn had landed behind her. People started screaming as their ride got a whole lot rougher.

"We're gonna die!" someone cried hysterically. There were more screams and shouts as the loose wiring rained sparks over the prisoners and the ship felt like it was going to shake apart.

"Brace yourselves!" Antonia shouted, "Retro rockets are next, in 3…"

"Clarke, there's something I have to tell you," Wells said urgently. "I'm sorry I got your father arrested."

"Don't you talk about my father!" said Clarke.

"…2…"

"Please! I can't die knowing that you hate me," Wells said desperately.

"They didn't arrest my father, Wells, they executed him!" Clarke shouted at him, her fury overtaking her fear. "I _do_ hate you!"

"…1!"

The drop ship gave another violent lurch that elicited more screams as the retro rockets finally fired, slowing their descent. Passengers clutched at their seats and their neighbors' hands in the long minutes that followed before the ship hit the ground, shook, shuddered, and finally was still.

XXXXX

On the Ark, Officer Callie "Cece" Kane stood facing a crown of people all demanding answers she wasn't authorized to give.

"I saw a ship launch, not more than twenty minutes ago!"

"Who was on it?"

"Was it the prisoners? They're just kids!"

"Are they going to Earth?" a woman pushing her way to the front of the crowd asked. "Did something change?"

Cece addressed the crowd, "Folks, as I said, at this time we cannot confirm or deny anything." Then she turned away and walked down the hall, leaving the guards to restrain the crowd as they kept on hurling questions at her back.

"Come on lady!"

"What's going on?"

"Is my son on that ship?"

Cece kept walking until she reached the Earth Monitoring Control Room. She walked in and headed towards her husband, Vice Chancellor Marcus Kane, second in command on the Ark, to give him a report on the situation outside.

"Not now," he said as he walked passed her to speak to the Head of Engineering, Mr. Sinclair.

"Total system failure," Sinclair said, "that's what we're looking at. All we know for sure is that they were off course when we lost contact so..."

"Tell me about communications," Kane interrupted.

"Other than the telemetry from those wristbands, we've got nothing. No audio, no video, no computer link; everything that we programmed in to help them is gone," Sinclair explained urgently. "They're on their own now!"


	3. We're On The Ground

Chapter 3 - On The Ground

Silence; that was the first thing that registered as the drop ship's passengers came out of their state of shock.

"Listen, no machine hum," one boy said, awed.

"Whoa. That's a first," his friend sitting next to him said.

"We're on the ground," Glass whispered to herself shakily.

"Iris, retract the claws please," Emily said calmly. Glass looked to where her hand was clutching Emily's arm hard enough to leave a mark, and she quickly let go.

"Sorry."

The ship gave one final shudder as everything settled into place. The sound of a seatbelt being unbuckled snapped them out of it, and then they were all unstrapping themselves and looking for a way out.

Clarke unstrapped herself and put a hand on Thalia's arm. Thalia had her eyes closed and was taking deep breaths. She looked pale. Clarke knew that this was the beginning of a crash she went into right after a high adrenaline rush. "Hey, look at me," Clarke said. Thalia opened her eyes and focused on Clarke. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," Thalia said unstrapping herself.

Clarke looked around and saw that Finn was already moving. He was kneeling next to one of the boys who had been unstrapped when the ship landed. Clarke rushed over to the other boy. She checked for a pulse but found none. "Finn is he breathing?" she asked. Finn looked at her and shook his head.

"The outer door is on the lower level. Let's go!" someone shouted.

"No, we can't just open the doors!" Clarke said urgently moving towards the hatch that led to the lower level. Thalia got up and followed right behind her.

As they climbed down the ladder to the first level of the drop ship, the heard a crowd already formed pushing towards the door. "Hey, just back it up guys," someone said. Thalia looked down and saw a tall, older boy with dark, slicked back hair motioning the people to step back while he reached for the lever that would release the door. She didn't recognize him.

"Stop!" Clarke shouted over the crowd, already at the bottom of the ladder. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd. "The air could be toxic!"

_._

_I'm waking up to ash and dust. I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust. I'm breathing in the chemicals_

_._

"If the air's toxic, we're all dead anyway," the boy said reaching for the lever.

"Bellamy?" A soft voice near the back of the room stopped him.

The voice came from a pretty brunette girl who was just coming down one of the ladders from the second level. She came to the bottom of the ladder and moved through the crowd until she stood in front of the older boy, Bellamy. The look on her face said that this was someone she thought she would never see again. This girl was someone that Thalia recognized, and hearing her say the boy's name Thalia stared, realizing who he was. She'd never spoken to the girl – never had a reason to – but her story was one that everyone knew, at least in part.

"That's the girl they hid under the floor," someone whispered loudly.

"My God, look how big you are," said Bellamy. She hugged him, and then took a step back, looking at him.

"What the hell are you wearing? A guard's uniform?" she asked.

"I borrowed it, to get on the drop ship. Someone's got to keep an eye on you," he said smiling, and then he hugged her again.

"Where's your wristband?" Clarke asked, seeing that he wasn't wearing one.

"Do you mind?" the girl said turning to Clarke, annoyed. "I haven't seen my brother in a year!"

"No one has a brother!" a boy in the crowd exclaimed.

"You're Octavia Blake! The girl they found hidden in the floor," said a girl with grey eyes and honey blond hair standing near the front of the crowd. Octavia looked at her, and lunged forward looking ready to claw her eyes out, but her brother held her back. The blonde girl didn't flinch, just looked at Octavia sizing her up, and decided she wasn't a threat either way.

"Octavia, no!" Bellamy said, holding her back. "Let's give them something else to remember you by."

"Yeah, like what?" Octavia asked, still angry.

The blonde girl she tried to attack stepped forward before Bellamy could answer. "Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years," she said with a smile.

Octavia looked at her, and then turned back to Bellamy, smiling too. He nodded and reached again for the lever, pulling it down. There was a hiss of air as the door released, and then bright light as it opened before them making a ramp to the ground.

_._

_I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus. This is it, the apocalypse...__Whoa!_

_._

Octavia blinked, letting her eyes adjust, and stared in wonder at what was in front of them. Beautiful woodland filled up the space they could see from inside the ship. Trees everywhere, with moss growing on the bark, grass carpeting the ground; everything was so green and bright, so alive. She took her first steps forward, drawing in a deep breath of fresh air for the first time. Even the air felt alive!

She reached the bottom of the ramp and paused before taking the last step, onto the ground. She looked back at Bellamy, who was holding his arm out to stop others from following her just yet and smiling at the look of sheer joy on his little sister's face. Everyone else was frozen, watching her. This moment was hers.

Octavia walked a few feet from the drop ship and looked around. There were trees all around them for as far as she could see. She looked up to see the sunlight streaming through the tree tops and felt the kind of warmth that no one on the Ark had ever felt. She raised her hands toward the sun and shouted as loud as she could, "We're Back Bitches!"

_._

_I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones, enough to make my system blow!_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_._

With that, the spell was broken. Everyone surged forward through the door of the ship like a river let loose, shouting, cheering and running in every direction, avoiding the smoking trees that had been felled by their landing. Bellamy came up to Octavia and gave her a one armed hug before being swept away by the flow of 100 prisoners rushing to freedom.

Before she could follow him she felt a hand on her arm and turned to see the blonde girl she almost had a confrontation with earlier.

"Nice announcement," the girl said, laughing. "I'm Annabeth. Come on, let's check this place out." And she and Octavia went running off to the trees, their hostilities from a few moments ago forgotten.

Clarke jumper off the side of the ramp and stared at what was around her in awe. Her friends Emily and Glass came out after her, as intoxicated as everyone else.

"Clarke, we made it! We're here!" Emily said bouncing on her feet as though she couldn't stay still, more animated than Clarke had seen her in a long time.

_._

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_._

Emily took Glass's hand and led her off to the trees. Glass' flowing blond hair was flying in every direction as she kept turning her head, trying to take in everything at once. Their excitement was infectious, but Clarke held back from following them. Instead she turned to check on Thalia who had come out and was leaning against the side of the drop ship looking around in wonder, but making no move to join the celebrations.

"You sure you're Ok?" Clarke asked. Thalia nodded, but Clarke was still worried. "You should sit down for a minute. I'll be right back."

XX

"Emily!" Glass called out, trying to keep up with her friend. "Emily, wait!"

Glass got no response and slowed to a stop, unable to keep up with Emily – and not wanting to go too far from the ship – as her friend ran on ahead showing no sign of stopping.

"Glass, what happened?" Wells came running up behind her, hearing her shouting. "Where's Emily?

"I don't know," Glass said, running a hand through her hair. "She just took off running."

Wells didn't bother asking why; it seemed like something Emily would do. "Which way did she go?" he asked.

"That way," said Glass, pointing out the direction that Emily had gone in.

"Stay here, I'll get her," Wells said and started running in the direction that Glass indicated.

"Good luck," Glass said laughing softly. He'd need it to catch Emily if she didn't want to stop.

Wells wasn't really worried about Emily; she could take care of herself. But she could also be reckless, and down here there was nobody to stop her if she got carried away. So he ran after her. Emily was fast but so was he, and he could already see her up ahead.

Emily loved the feeling of being able to run, of being able to do something, _anything_ physical after being in a cell for ten long months. Her mind took in every sensation as she moved, as Glass' voice, and the noise of the other prisoners, fell away behind her. The woods closed around her and she felt the air rushing over her face and through her hair as it trailed behind her, heard the rustling of the bushes she brushed past, and felt the leaves, twigs and stones that crunched and clattered under her boots.

More than that, she felt her blood pumping, her breath moving easily through her lungs, her muscles working, not the least bit fatigued; she hadn't lost her edge. When she'd done exercises in their cell to stay in shape, like holding a difficult position for hours, Glass had asked her before how she had the patience for it. Emily could be very patient. She knew how to wait and be still and quiet, but honestly, she _really_ didn't like to. She wanted to be moving. Being in the Skybox without access to any of the activities that were her usual outlet, Emily had a lot of tension to run off and she fully intended to.

But apparently she wouldn't get to right now as she heard someone coming up behind her. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that it was Wells, though she could have guessed that. He was the only one who would have come after her _and_ was fast enough to. Emily was tempted to quicken her pace to see if she could outrun him – she and Wells had often been competitive with each other growing up – but maybe now wasn't the time. Wells caught up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.

"What?!" Emily exclaimed, spinning around to face him. Her irritation didn't last though, "Wells, can you believe that this is actually happening?"

"You should be careful," said Wells, predictably trying to be the responsible one. "We don't know this place, it could be dangerous. We could get lost."

"Wells, stop being such a kill joy," she said, brushing off his concern. "After 97 years, _we_ are the first to come down from the Ark. Look around," she said, spreading her arms to take in the whole forest. "This, us being here, is _amazing_. Not to mention the fact that we survived the trip down to begin with." She looked at him knowingly; they'd always dreamed of coming to Earth, never believing that they actually would. "Don't tell me you're not excited."

Wells took a moment to look around. It was beautiful here. And Emily was right, just the fact that they were here, alive, was amazing. "OK, you're right, it is exciting," Wells said nodding, unable to contain a grin; Emily laughed. "But could we _please_ be excited back in that direction?" he asked pointing back the way they had come, towards the drop ship.

"Fine," said Emily, smiling impishly, "I'll race you back." And she took off running with Wells close behind her, eager to see who would win.

XX

Clarke walked away from the drop ship, but instead of joining the festive atmosphere under the trees, she walked towards a ravine that gave her a view of the landscape. She unrolled a map that she found in the drop ship and compared it to what she saw now. Weather was marked on the map in red and if Clarke was reading the map correctly, they weren't on it.

"Why so serious, Princess?" Finn said coming up behind her. "It's not like we died in a fiery explosion."

"Try telling that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of their seats," Clarke said, still reading the map.

"You don't like to be called 'Princess', do you Princess?"

"You see that peak over there?" Clarke asked impatiently, pointing to a mountain in the distance on the other side of the ridge.

"Yeah"

"Mount Weather," Clarke explained. "There's a radiation soaked forest between us and our next meal. They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain!"

_._

_Woaaahh…Woaahh…I'm radioactive, radioactive!_

* * *

The song lyrics featured in this chapter are from Radioactive by Imagine Dragons


	4. They're All Criminals

Chapter 4 - They're All Criminals

Back on the Ark in the Earth Monitoring control room, Dr. Abby Griffin stood looking at computer monitors that covered half the wall. Each monitor was divided into cells and each cell held a prisoner's ID number, name and picture, along with their vital signs being transmitted by the wristbands.

"There it is," Vice Chancellor Kane addressed the room. "We know they've landed but communications are down, so we're still blind to conditions on Earth. Thanks to Abby's wristband we at least know how those conditions affect the human body, which is more than we've had for a hundred years, so good job everyone. Now what are they telling us?"

Dr. Griffin stepped forward. "Two dead kids, dark tiles," she said indicating to tiles on the board that were black. "Dr. Jackson, please share our theory with Councilor Kane," she said to her assistant.

"Of course," said Jackson. "Granted, they've only been on the ground for seven minutes, but as of now we believe that the fatalities are due to the landing, not radiation levels."

"Rough landing, that's your theory?" Kane asked skeptically.

"The dots connect," replied Dr. Griffin.

"Would you agree that if it was radiation we'd see fatalities climb fairly quickly now, because I'm noticing a lot of red on that board," Kane commented.

"Spiking vital signs," Dr. Griffin explained. "Two possibilities: one, injuries sustained during landing."

"And the other?"

"They're excited to be there," said Cece Kane, staring at the board, at one tile in particular. The picture of the girl on the tile looked like a younger version of herself - the same Asian features and strait black hair - except for her eyes; she had her father's brown eyes. Abby wasn't the only one with someone she loved on the ground.

XXXXX

Emily Kane sat with her legs crossed on the ramp of the drop ship putting her long dark hair into a single French-braid, and watching Clarke as she traced a path from the drop ship to Mount Weather on the map and calculated how far it was. Clarke's friend Thalia was sitting further up the ramp, leaning against the door frame. She looked exhausted, and Emily had heard Clarke ask if she was Ok twice since they landed.

Emily didn't ask what was wrong though; Thalia didn't look like the kind of person who welcomed questions or wanted your concern. Emily respected that.

Wells and Glass came out of the drop ship where they had been checking the communications system, and the few supplies that had been sent with them. They stepped down to join Clarke. "We got problems," said Wells. "The communications system is dead. I went up to the roof, a dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires."

"And I checked the supplies packed in the third level. There are some tents, blankets, backpacks with rope, flashlights and some other camping gear, but no food, water or medical supplies," Glass reported. She and Wells both agreed not to tell anyone what else they'd found in the third level just yet.

"When the Chancellor said he sent us with nothing, he meant it," Emily chimed in.

"All that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather. Look," said Clarke showing them the rout on the map. "This is us, and this is where we need to get to if we want to survive."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Wells asked. Clarke tensed, and Emily and Glass exchanged a look. "Your father," Wells answered his own question.

They were distracted from the sudden tension by a pale-skinned boy wearing goggles pushed up on his forehead who wondered over to see what they were doing.

"Cool, a map," he said looking between Clarke and Wells. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you a drink," he joked.

Wells took his arm and pushed him back a few steps, "Do you mind?"

"Hey," a new voice called out. Wells turned to see a group of boys walking up led by a slim boy with brown hair and an unpleasant look on his face. "Hands off of him, he's with us."

"Relax," Wells said turning to face them. "We're just trying to figure out where we are."

"We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?" Bellamy demanded, coming up with his sister.

Emily uncrossed her legs and climbed down from the ramp to stand with Clark, Wells and Glass. Thalia sat up from where she had been resting, paying close attention now. She knew a fight brewing when she saw it. Especially when she saw who was leading the other group: John Murphy and John Mbege. Both of them arrested for violent crimes, both deserved to be locked up, and both of them idiots who didn't know how to think past their fists.

Then there was also the stranger wearing a guard's uniform, Bellamy Blake. Whatever else he might be, he was a wild card down here, the only person that Thalia didn't really know. One thing she did know is that he was definitely not a guard. Thalia hung back waiting to see how the situation played out.

"We need to find Mount Weather," Wells explained. "You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority."

"Screw your father," Octavia said. "What, you think you're in charge here? You and your little _princesses_," She added looking at Clarke and Emily with a sneer.

"Do you think we _care_ who's in charge?" Emily asked with disdain. She instantly disliked Octavia. And she _hated_ to be called princess.

"We need to find Mount Weather," Clarke intervened, "not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait the hungrier we'll get and the harder this will be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty mile trek, Ok. So if we want to get there before dark we need to leave, now."

"I've got a better idea," Bellamy said. "You three go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change."

"Yeah," several voices in the gathering crowd agreed.

"You're not listening. We all need to go!" said Wells.

"Oh, look at this everybody, The Chancellor of Earth," Murphy said, pushing Wells.

"You think that's funny?" said Wells.

Murphy pushed him again, tripping his leg so that Wells fell to the ground, his ankle sprained. "No, but that was," Murphy said, while people in the crowd laughed.

"Wells!" Glass called out. She and Clarke moved forward to help him but Mbege held them back.

Emily turned on Mbege and hit him with three rapid punches to the chest – twelve years of martial arts training coming in handy – forcing him back and leaving him gasping for breath. "Keep your hands to yourself," she said angrily.

Meanwhile, Wells had gotten back to his feet, but was limping. Still he raised his fists ready to fight when Murphy stepped forward to challenge him again. Most of the former prisoners were watching now and started calling out.

"Come on, get him!"

"Back off Murphy"

"Fight! Fight!"

"What you gonna do now Wells?"

Just then, Finn jumped down from a ledge on the drop ship where he had been watching, and landed between Wells and Murphy. The crowd went quiet. "Kid's got one leg," he said to Murphy. "Why don't you wait until it's a fair fight?"

Murphy and Finn stared each other down until Octavia walked up to Finn. "Hey Spacewalker," she said with a flirtatious smile, "Rescue me next."

Finn smiled, the tension broke, and the crowd laughed and started to disperse. Glass and Clarke rushed over to Wells to help him back over to the ramp. Murphy, Mbege and the rest of their group walked off. Bellamy came over to Octavia and looked at her incredulously.

"What?" she asked. "He's cute."

"He's a criminal."

"They're all criminals."

Bellamy took her arm and started leading her away from the people still milling around. "Look O, I came down here to protect you."

"I don't need protecting!" she said pulling her arm away. "I have been locked up, one way or another, all my life. I am done following orders!" Octavia looked at her brother imploringly. "I need to have fun Bell. I need to just…do something crazy, just because I can. And no one, including you, is gonna stop me."

"I can't stay with them O," Bellamy said quietly, nodding towards the group.

"Now what are you talking about?"

Bellamy looked around, and then led Octavia further away from the group so that they would not be overheard. "I did something, to get on the drop ship. Something that they will kill me for when they come down."

Octavia looked at him, worried, "What did you do?"

"I can't say what just yet but I need you to trust me. You do still trust me don't you?"

Bellamy and Octavia looked at each other, the only brother and sister on the Ark, and now on the ground. All they'd ever really had was each other.

"Yeah, I trust you."

XXXXX

Thalia looked out over the 100 prisoners that had been sent to Earth. She was glad to see that for the most part they had the sense to stay close to the ship. The forest was all green all the time and completely unfamiliar to them; It would be easy for people to get lost. Now that the excitement had simmered down, people were milling around in groups talking about what they wanted to do first, going exploring, and wondering what was going to happen to them down here.

Thalia walked over to where Clarke was checking Wells' ankle. "Good to go?" she asked.

"It's just a sprain," Clarke said to both of them. "It should be fine in a day or two, but you're not going anywhere today Wells." Clarke stood up and turned to Thalia "You're staying too, Thalia."

"Clarke, I keep telling you I'm fine."

"No you're not," Clarke said worried. "If your blood sugar drops too low you could go into shock. You should take it easy for now."

Thalia thought that Clarke was a lot like her mother; she gave you the truth and didn't bother to try to sugar coat it - one of the things she liked most about her. "OK, Clarke. I promise I will take it easy. You be careful, OK." Clarke nodded.

"Great. Let's get some packs from the drop ship and get going," Emily said, jumping up. "Any excuse to get away from this crowd."

"I'm going to stay here with Wells," Glass said, looking at him worriedly.

"Glass, I'm fine," he tried to reassure her – a wasted effort.

"I'm not leaving my best friend alone here with a pack of wolves circling!" Glass stated, her green eyes shining. Wells and Clarke knew well enough that she wouldn't change her mind.

Clarke followed Emily into the drop ship to grab some gear for their trip. Thalia turned away from Wells and Glass without a word and walked away from the group to a shaded spot under the trees. She moved further into the trees until she was out of sight of the others and sat down pulling the med kit out of her jacket pocket. As she was filling a syringe she heard footsteps behind her. Thalia didn't try to hide the meds; she already knew who it was.

"Hi, Annabeth," Thalia said without looking up.

"Where'd you get that?" Annabeth asked, sitting down next to her.

"It was a gift."

Annabeth waited, and then just shrugged when Thalia didn't explain – she knew that Thalia wouldn't say more if she didn't want to. Annabeth waited while Thalia injected herself with the meds and put the kit back in her jacket pocket, and then they both got up and started walking back towards the group.

"If you already have meds, then why did you let Clarke think that you're still sick?" Annabeth asked when they paused at the tree line. Thalia smiled; Annabeth didn't miss a thing. Thalia looked out over what was looking to be their camp site. It was true she had known that as her friend and the closest thing they had to a doctor that Clarke wouldn't want her going on the hike to Mount Weather if she thought Thalia wasn't well. Thalia looked at the groups that had started to form around camp, and thought of the fight that almost broke out when they had been here less than an hour.

"I know almost everyone here, if not personally then at least by name or by their record," Thalia replied. "We knew what to expect from them in the Skybox but down here…it's a whole new game."

"A whole new world," Annabeth added smiling.

Thalia smiled with her closest friend. Annabeth Chase had an infectious smile that made anyone want to smile with her. That combined with her curly blond hair and the dappled sunlight shining through the trees made her look like a princess out of a storybook, though Thalia knew she was far from it.

While Annabeth looked like a ray of light in the trees (blonde hair, light grey eyes, blue pants, a light blue shirt and hoody, and pink jacket) Thalia looked like a shadow moving through the trees (short black hair, shocking blue eyes and all black clothes). The two were as different in personality as they were in appearance, but they had known each other their whole lives and trusted each other above anyone else.

"I want to stick around, keep an eye on things, and see how people react," Thalia said, serious again. "I want to see how things start to settle here."

"You mean _if_ they settle," Annabeth added skeptically. They were both thinking how easily a group of 100 juvenile delinquents could be stirred up.

Thalia saw Clarke and Emily coming back out of the drop ship. Even before she had been put in the Skybox ten months ago, Thalia knew who Emily was. Everyone on the Ark did. Just as Wells Jaha was known for being the Chancellor's son, so was Emily Kane known for being the Vice Chancellor's daughter. Emily was also known for being the champion in martial arts competition for the last four years. And Thalia knew that Emily was one of Clarke's childhood friends (Clarke had talked about her often enough). She would watch out for Clarke, leaving Thalia free to watch everyone else.

"You were talking to Octavia earlier, right?" Thalia asked.

"Yes," Annabeth replied. "So?"

"Do me a favor. Stay close to her."

Annabeth looked at Thalia questioningly. "You only ask those kinds of favors when you think someone is going to be trouble. Octavia has issues, but she's harmless."

"I know," said Thalia. "It's not her that I'm concerned about."

"Her brother," Annabeth guessed. "Can you believe that they're really siblings?"

Thalia shrugged, "Like I said, I know everyone down here, except for him."

"And you hate not knowing," Annabeth said teasingly.

"You know me too well," Thalia countered. "One of the best ways to get to know someone is to know the people closest to them. And what's closer than brother and sister? Besides, that girl could definitely use a friend, don't you think."

"I can do that." Annabeth paused for a moment before asking, "Did you see Luke before we left?"

"Saw him; didn't speak to him."

Annabeth put her hand on Thalia's shoulder for a moment but didn't say anything. There was nothing to say, nothing could be done. Annabeth went off to where Octavia was approaching Clarke and the others, while Thalia stayed just under the tree line, and walked around the edge of the clearing. She came across a group of people sitting in the shade of the trees, talking about what could be happening on the Ark. Two of them she knew: Antonia Sinclair and Tandoori Angel. The others she knew enough of to know that they could be useful. It was time for her to make some new friends.


	5. Beautiful & Creepy

Chapter 5 - Beautiful &amp; Creepy

Clarke and Emily came out of the drop ship, Clarke carrying a backpack and Emily carrying a long bundled pack. When Clarke asked what it was, Emily replied cryptically, "Just something I might need. I'll show you later."

"So, Mount Weather," Finn said coming up, "when are we leaving?"

"Right now," Clarke turned to Wells and Glass. "We'll be back tomorrow with food."

"How are the three of you going to carry enough food for a hundred?" Wells asked.

Finn looked around and pulled two boys out of the group of people standing closest to them: the kid with the goggles, Jasper Jordan, and his friend who was chewing on a piece of some plant, Monty Green.

"There, five of us," said Finn. "Can we go now?"

"Sounds like a party. Make it six," Octavia said, joining the group. Emily scowled.

"Seven," Annabeth said coming up behind her.

"Great, now there's two of them," Emily said to the side.

"You're coming too?" Octavia asked Annabeth.

Annabeth smiled. "Not that I don't trust you all to bring enough food back for the rest of us out of the goodness of your hearts…"

"I wouldn't," Emily slipped in.

"…but my dad always told me that if I wanted something, to go get it myself."

"Octavia, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Bellamy took Octavia's arm and tried to pull her away.

Octavia pulled her arm out of his grip, "I'm going for a walk."

"Hey, were you trying to take this off?" Glass asked Finn, noticing that his wristband was cracked.

"Yeah, so?" Finn said.

"So, this wristband transmits your vital signs to the Ark. Take it off and they'll think you're dead," Glass explained.

"Should I care?"

"I don't know," Clarke said stepping in. "Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow us down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying."

Finn looked at her and nodded. He heard what she had to say, and he wasn't the only one. Behind Clarke, Bellamy was listening intently too.

"Ok, then let's go" said Clarke. Finn headed out of camp with Jasper and Monty following him. Clarke picked up her backpack and turned to Wells. "You shouldn't have come here Wells" she said, her voice flat and cold. She followed after Finn, with Emily right beside her.

"Are you coming?" Annabeth asked Octavia.

Octavia looked at Bellamy, pleading with her eyes. He couldn't resist that look. "Go on," he said. Octavia kissed him on the cheek and followed the others.

"Do we really need to put up with her for two days?" Emily said quietly to Clarke, nodding back towards Octavia.

"Let it go Em," Clarke said. "We've got bigger problems."

Octavia and Annabeth brought up the rear of the group.

"Before you get any ideas," Octavia said, "Finn's mine."

"Before you get any ideas," Annabeth replied, "I don't care."

XXXXX

Abby Griffin had been busy for the last hour monitoring the situation on Earth by the only means available to them, the transmitions from the wristbands. A few in particular she was keeping a closer eye on than the others. She worried a bit at the spike in vital signs from Wells Jaha, which indicated a pain response, but it subsided and did not seem to be too significant. Still Abby closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that Clarke and her friends were alright. Abby shook herself out of it and focused her attention on the tile labeled 'Thalia Grace'. The transmition showed that Thalia's vitals were stabilizing, her blood sugar had risen slightly and the fatigue toxins in her blood were down. Thalia had taken the medicine that Abby gave her. Abby sighed in relief, hoping that the risk she took to get the meds was worth it, that Thalia kept her word. Abby knew that Clarke would need all the friends she could get.

Cece came up to Abby's work station and gave her friend a small smile. "Hey, darling," she said "How are the girls doing?"

Abby hit a few keys on the computer that enlarged two of the prisoner tiles on the board: 'Clarke Griffin' and 'Emily Kane'. "Their vital signs are strong. No signs of injury or distress," Abby said. "Blood sugar's low though. They haven't eaten."

Both mothers looked at the board for a moment, at the pictures of their little girls who looked so much older than how they thought of them. Abby and Cece both hoped that their daughters, who had been friends their whole lives, would be able to watch out for each other like they had always done. And that it would be enough to keep them safe. They were snapped out of it by a phone ringing. Abby reached across the desk and answered it. She listened for a moment and her face turned deadly serious. She slammed the phone down and rushed to the door calling to her assistant "Jackson call down to the OR, we need blood, A-, and a lot of it. Then get your ass down there."

As Dr. Jackson scrambled to do as she said, Cece called out, "Abby, what's wrong?"

Abby turned at the door, said "The Chancellor's been shot!" and then took off down the hall.

XXXXX

The party on their way to Mount Weather hiked through the woods, over the rises and falls in the terrain, with Clarke urging them on anytime they became distracted by the new sights and sounds around them. They had been hiking for some time when they came across a patch of small purple wildflowers growing in the moss on boulders and trees.

Clarke was in the lead and walked past without slowing. Emily kept pace with her even as she kept turning to look at all the different spots of colour blended together around then, a sharp striking contrast to anything on the Ark.

Emily was still carrying the long wrapped package and Annabeth got curious enough to ask, "What is that, anyway?"

Emily paused, and then turned back to the others and unwrapped the pack to reveal a long slightly curved sword in a black sheath. Clarke recognized it as the katana that Emily used in martial arts exhibitions on the Ark. Few people were allowed to handle those kinds of weapons, which were just for show on the Ark and were very carefully preserved and stored.

"Wow" said Jasper.

"Cool" said Monty.

"Do you know how to use that?" asked Annabeth.

In response, Emily unsheathed the sword and turned towards a tree with low hanging branches. Holding the sword with both hands, she made three slicing motions that were almost too quick to follow. As she re-sheathed the sword, the branch of the tree fell, sliced cleanly into three pieces.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Finn commented while Monty and Jasper gaped.

"Where did you get that?" Clarke asked. Weapons like swords were never allowed out of the training area, so how did one end up down here with them.

"In the third level of the drop ship, hidden," Emily said. "My mother put it there for me. Just before they put us on the drop ship she came and told me. In case I needed it."

"Wow," said Octavia snarkily. "The privileges of being one of the privileged; Mommy and Daddy give you whatever you need."

Emily turned to Octavia smirking. "Yes, my life was very privileged. I was a high class _princess_ who got almost everything I wanted," she said sardonically. "As long as I behaved and did what I was told, sat still, didn't speak unless spoken to. Didn't _think_," Her voice got colder as she continued. "The first time I tried to voice an opinion that was different from what my father wanted, I got put in a cell. He would have my mother floated if he knew that she took this and gave it to me."

That gave Octavia pause. "He would do that to his own wife?"

"Why not?" This time Emily's smirk had a harsh edge to it. "He was going to do it to his own _daughter_," she said bitterly. Emily turned, slinging the strap on the sword sheath over her shoulder and walked ahead with Clarke. The rest of the group followed.

"Maybe you don't want to antagonize the sword wielding samurai," Annabeth suggested to Octavia.

"Ninja, actually," Emily said ahead of them – she also had pretty good hearing.

Ahead of the others, Clarke whispered to Emily, "I thought you were arrested for starting a riot in the rec center."

"Two of my best friends were in prison waiting to be executed, by my father," Emily said, deadpan. "That was my way of voicing an opinion." The two friends looked at each other, and then smiled, some of the tension leaving for the moment. If they both ended up getting dropped into a strange new world, well at least they had each other.

The group continued hiking and crossed another patch of wildflowers. Finn stopped to pick one and then tucked it into Octavia's hair while she smiled brightly at him.

"Now, that my friend is game." Jasper said to Monty, observing their flirtatious interaction.

"That, my friend, is poison sumac." Monty countered.

"What, it is?!" Octavia exclaimed, hurriedly brushing the flower out of her hair.

"Relax," said Monty. "The flowers aren't poisonous. They're medicinal, calming actually."

"Hey, would you please keep up!" Clarke called back from where she and Emily had pulled ahead of the others again.

"Come on Clarke," said Finn, jogging a few steps to catch up. "How do you block this all out?"

"It's easy," she replied. "I wonder why we haven't seen any animals. Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us! Sure is pretty though." Clarke turned and kept walking.

"Somebody should slip her some poison sumac," Octavia said to the boys.

"Your friend could learn to lighten up a little," Annabeth said, walking beside Emily now.

"Me, Clarke and Wells have known each other our whole lives, and she's always kind of been like that," Emily replied with a shrug.

"Uptight?"

"Focused; when she needs to do something she gets it done." Emily said defensively. "Then she'll lighten up." She had always admired Clarke's determination, though there had been times when she found it annoying too.

"Hey, Clarke," Annabeth called out. Clarke looked over her shoulder and let Emily and Annabeth fall into step with her. "If you're right, and we're all going to be dead in a few days anyway, then maybe we should all try to enjoy living while we're still alive."

"She is right, you know," Emily added. Clarke just kept walking.

The others were having their own conversation behind them. "I've got to know what you two did to bet busted," Finn said to Jasper and Monty.

"My family grows all the pharmaceuticals on the Ark," said Monty. "Let's just say, sumac isn't the only herb in the garden."

"And someone forgot to replace what we took," Jasper said, looking accusingly at Monty.

"I've apologized like a thousand times."

"What about you Octavia?" Jasper asked playfully. "What'd they get you for?"

Octavia's expression lost all playfulness, "Being born."

"Octavia," Annabeth called quietly, gesturing for Octavia to catch up and stay quiet. Octavia went ahead to where Annabeth was looking at something from behind a bush.

"That is so _not_ game," Monty said to Jasper. The boys came up to see what the girls were looking at.

Clarke shushed them and pointed to a clearing on the other side of the bush, where a deer was calmly grazing. It was a simple, beautiful sight and Clarke was reminded of a similar picture she had drawn on the wall of her cell in the Skybox. It was an amazing feeling to see the real thing.

"No animal's, huh," Finn said to her, creeping past the bush to get a closer look. He stepped on a branch and the sound brought the deer's head up. When it looked at them, they all started back and gasped. The deer had two heads! The animal bounded away in the other direction and they all stared after it.

"Well, that was both beautiful, and creepy," said Emily. "I say we keep moving."

"Yeah," they all agreed.

XXXXX

In the operating room of the Medical Center, Dr. Griffin and her surgical team were trying desperately to save the Chancellor's life. Surgery had been going on for hours and the prospects were grim. Still Dr. Griffin was determined that he should live, if only to stop the next in line from taking his place.

"The Chancellor's lost a lot of blood. If only they'd found him sooner," she said, diligently working to repair the damage caused by the bullet. The monitor tracking the Chancellor's vital signs started to pick up and beat erratically. "Damn it!"

"Abby, he's waking up!" Dr. Jackson said. The Chancellor's eyelids fluttered as the anesthesia started to wear off.

"Increase anesthesia," Dr. Griffin ordered.

"We've used too much blood and anesthesia. We're way over the line."

"Your Chancellor's going into shock!"

"You're asking me to break the law!" Jackson said worriedly.

"Fine, I'll do it myself." Dr. Griffin responded adamantly. "Let them come after me."

XX

Elsewhere on the Ark, Vice Chancellor Marcus Kane was evaluating both the situations on the Ark and on Earth. It seemed to him that the Chancellor's chances of survival were as slim as that of the 100 prisoners sent to the ground. He felt a slight twinge, the image of one of the prisoner profiles coming to the front of his mind, but he pushed it back; this was no time for sentiment. Kane turned to the man approaching him. "Commander Shumway," he greeted him.

"Sir, you asked me to keep you updated," Commander Shumway said respectfully. "The Chancellor is still in surgery, but we have identified the shooter. Bellamy Blake is the only person on the Ark unaccounted for. He stowed away on the drop ship." Shumway showed Kane an ID photo of Bellamy Blake on a portable viewing screen.

"Who is he?" Kane asked.

"He's no one, a janitor. We're still putting together a profile, but his motive for going to Earth is clear." Shumway brought up a prisoner profile for Octavia Blake on the viewing screen.

"A sister, I remember," Kane said. "Their mother kept her hidden for almost sixteen years - Nearly a record." Kane noticed that Shumway seemed preoccupied, "What is it Commander, spit it out."

"We could start now." Commander Shumway spoke quietly so as not to be overheard. "As acting Chancellor, you could give the order to start reducing the population."

Kane considered for a moment and said, "Not yet."

"Sir, we're wasting time. Removing The Hundred from the population only buys us another month. Engineering needs more than that to fix those systems, _if_ they can fix them at all."

"You have my answer, Commander. Enough," Kane said when it looked like Shumway would continue arguing. "If we're going to kill hundreds of innocent people, we're going to do it by the book, is that clear?" Shumway nodded, conceding. "Good. In the meantime, I want you to find out who helped this janitor get on that drop ship, because he sure as hell didn't do it by himself."

"Yes sir."

"It seems we have a traitor in our midst Commander. And The 100 have an assassin in theirs."


	6. Who's Gonna Run Things?

Chapter 6 - Who's Gonna Run Things?

Since the others left, Glass and Wells had been keeping themselves busy scouting for water and gathering firewood - Wells knew it would get colder once the sun went down. Glass had been stunned to see her best friend on the drop ship. She'd heard the ridiculous rumors that Wells had been confined, but hadn't given them a second thought until she'd actually seen him for herself. Then she realized he must have been trying to follow Clarke. Wells would do anything to protect the people he cared about, Clarke most of all. Returning to the drop ship with another load of firewood, Glass told Wells that he should stop to rest his ankle or it would get worse, but the pain in his ankle was nothing compared to the pain he felt from the look of pure loathing on Clark's face when she first saw him on the drop ship.

"You know, she would probably stop hating you if you told her the truth," Glass said. As always, she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

"No," he said, setting a load of firewood down next to the drop ship. "Let it go Glass."

"I can't just let it go," Glass said, setting down her much smaller load. "I can't stand seeing you two like this," she said imploringly. "It's been the four of us – you, me, Emily and Clarke – since we were twelve years old. Now it's just us against the whole world and we need each other!" She paused before adding softly, "You and Clarke need each other."

"Telling her the truth would only hurt her worse" said Wells.

"Wells, she's hurting either way," Glass said sadly, "We all are."

"Iris," Wells said, turning to her and using her first name to show that he was serious, "you can't tell Clarke. Promise me."

Glass sighed, "I won't tell her Wells, because _you_ should." She let the matter drop for now. Glass knew it was unlikely that Wells would tell Clarke what really happened. He was right, the truth would hurt her worse, and Wells would never do anything to hurt Clarke, even if it meant that he was the one getting hurt. Glass wondered how Clarke couldn't see that.

Not for the first time, Wells wondered how Glass had ended up here, what she had done to be confined. She turned away from him when he tried to ask her earlier. Glass had been arrested a month after Clarke, and Wells and Emily had been unable to find out why from their parents, no matter how hard they pressed. Emily had been arrested two months later for staging her own form of protest against losing her friends who were like family to her, and against her father's cold disregard for her concerns. Wells knew that Emily disliked her father, and figured that wanting to break out of her father's control (or at least get his attention) is what drove Emily to do something drastic.

Glass mostly just thought that Emily had always been a little bit crazy.

Wells shook himself out of his thoughts, "Come on, we still need to find a water source." Glass didn't answer, "Glass?"

"She's watching us," Glass said in a hushed voice. Wells followed her line of sight to where Thalia was walking by with a group of people on their way into the drop ship. Thalia had stopped at the bottom of the ramp and was looking at them – they could see the electric blue of her eyes from where they stood. She let the others pass her before turning and following them into the ship. Glass shivered, "She gives me the chills. Those eyes…it's like she's looking right through you."

"What do you have against Thalia?" Wells asked.

"Nothing," Glass said defensively. "There's just something about her. She's very…" Glass searched for the right word.

"Disconcerting?" Wells supplied.

"That's one word for it."

Wells had gotten the same impression, but still he pointed out, "She's Clark's friend."

"Yes, she's Clarke's friend," Glass agreed, "But that doesn't mean that she's our friend." She and Wells each picked up one of the empty canteens that they'd found in the ship to carry water in, assuming they found any.

"You find any water yet?" said someone behind them.

"No, not yet," Wells said, and then he turned around and saw that it was the same two guys from before. Thalia had told Clarke that their names were John Murphy and John Mbege and warned her to steer clear of them, that they were trouble. Wells wasn't afraid of them, but he decided to try the less hostile approach. "We're going back out again if you want to come."

Looking past them, Wells saw what they had scratched into the side of the drop ship with a piece of metal that Murphy had made into a knife.

FIRST SON, FIRST TO DYE

Murphy sneered. "You know, my father begged for mercy in the airlock chamber when your father floated him," he said.

Well wasn't afraid, he was angry. Murphy was a thug with a grudge and a vendetta, and his friend, Mbege, would go along with whatever he did. Wells knew that he could take one or two guys like them in a real fight – he was top of his class in hand-to-hand combat in officer training. But down here, there was one of him and 90 of them. And, though he knew that Glass was not as fragile as her name or size suggested, he didn't want her getting caught in the middle of it if a fight broke out. She was looking at him, worried; Wells kept his anger in check.

"You spelled die wrong, geniuses," he said pushing past them. He headed out of camp again with Glass close behind him. Glass looked over her shoulder and saw Murphy and Mbege still watching them, and so was that guy Bellamy. She knew more trouble was coming.

"If you're going to kill someone, it's probably best not to announce it," Bellamy said to Murphy and Mbege.

"You're not really a member of the guard are you?" a new voice said. A boy with brown eyes and shoulder length brown hair tied back in a rubber band, sauntered up. Mbege nodded to him like they knew each other. "Hey, name's Danny," he said to Bellamy.

"No, I'm not," said Bellamy, answering his question. "The real guard will be down here soon enough, unless we stop them."

"Stop them?" asked Danny.

"You don't really think they're going to forgive your crimes do you?" Bellamy asked, rhetorically. "Even if they do, guys like us, are we gonna become model citizens now? Get jobs? If we're lucky, maybe pick up their trash."

"What's your point?" Murphy asked impatiently.

"My point is this: they locked you up, and then dumped you down here like lab rats to die. So why are you helping them?"

"The hell we are!" Mbege said angrily.

"You're wearing those bracelets aren't you?" Bellamy gestured to their wristbands. "Right now those things are telling the Ark whether or not it's safe to come down."

"OK, you said we could stop them," Murphy said, "How?"

"Take them off. The Ark will think you're dead, that it's not safe to follow. You follow?"

"So, say we did," asked Danny "What's in it for us?"

Bellamy grinned, "Someone's got to help me run things."

XXXXX

Abby was feeling drained; after hours of surgery, the stress of the day was starting to get to her, but there was still work to be done. Entering the Earth Monitoring control room she saw Cece and Marcus Kane consulting Engineer Sinclair about the new development that occurred. Looking at the board Abby saw more dark tiles than before.

Cece looked up as she approached and asked, "Abby, how's the Chancellor doing?"

"Ask me again if he makes it through the night," she said distractedly. "Who else did we lose?"

Sinclair checked the screen and replied, "Two boys, Murphy and Mbege, both named John."

"Neither of them was injured in the landing," Cece observed.

"I agree," said Sinclair, analyzing the data. "Something else killed these two. One second they were fine and the next, bang."

"Then it isn't radiation," said Abby.

"Come on Abby," Kane said condescendingly, "wishful thinking isn't good science."

"It's not wishful thinking, Kane" said Abby, turning to him. "'One second fine, and the next, bang' isn't how exposure to radiation presents."

"It could be, if there was enough of it."

"If there was enough of it, they would all be dead!" Abby said forcefully. She turned back to the board looking at Clark's statistics and checking the data for the faces she knew. All of them were so young, barley more than children, who had been sent away to die. She felt a heavy weight in her chest, and she wasn't the only one feeling it.

Sinclair stood up from his work station and came to her side appearing to analyze the data on the screens.

"I really hope your right," he said to Abby. Abby was reminded again that she wasn't the only one with a personal stake in this, besides the survival of the human race.

XXXXX

Thalia was in the second level of the drop ship watching the people who had come in with her take pieces of the machinery and computer systems apart and listening to Antonia Sinclair explain, in very technical terms, why most of the equipment wasn't working.

Looking at Antonia, you might think that the most striking thing about her was her eyes, one green and one blue, but what was really astounding about her was her mind. Antonia was not only the smartest person in lockup; she had probably been one of the smartest people on the Ark, as shown by her IQ and aptitude test that everyone was required to take.

At the age of 12 she had been recruited to train with the Ark's head technical team – which her father was a part of – and at 14 had proposed to her supervisors that the Ark systems were vulnerable. Though Antonia was considered to be a gifted child, no one in command every really listened to children, so Antonia decided to prove it to them. She created a programme to hack into the Ark systems and gain control, and used it to initiate a lock down during last year's Unity Day celebrations. It lasted for almost two days until they managed to trace her location, and a guard put a gun to her head and forced her to stop the hack. Antonia hadn't done any damage to the Ark or its systems, and the public was told that the lock down had been a precaution taken because of a malfunction. But after a year of being interrogated, the higher-ups still didn't know exactly how she had done it.

Thalia knew that almost everyone in the room right now had a somewhat similar story, had been arrested for being too smart for their own good. Carter Magna and Holly Hamilton, who were right now checking the components of the communications system, had also been arrested for computer hacking. Carter, for creating fake ID tags that could fool most of the scanners on the Ark, and Holly for getting into the Ark's medical resource logs to requisition medication for her sick grandmother.

"This whole thing is a mess," Carter said, pulling out a piece of melted plastic and metal that was once a circuit board.

"Most of the circuits in here are toast," Holly agreed. "There's no way to get this thing running without new parts."

"Even if you got it to work, it wouldn't matter," said Annalee Call, a petite girl with dark hair in a pixie cut, coming down the ladder from the third level. She had been recruited to Mechanics, and arrested for illegal salvaging of machine parts. "I was just on the roof. The transmitter is completely blown, and the wiring is fried. A lot of the solar panels are missing too."

"Meaning…?" Thalia asked

"She means that even if we get the communications system running, we won't be able to send a signal out," Antonia explained.

"Well at least we got the lights back on," Conner Lassiter said. Conner was a big guy, with dark skin and his hair cut close, and was smart with tools; not so much with his mouth. He was arrested for a fight that had put someone in the hospital. "Now if only we had the air cooling system," he said wistfully, "Wouldn't want you ladies getting all hot and bothered."

"Slow it down hot shot," Ember Sans Souci cut in. "The lights are the only thing we're getting _on_ right now. We have Spacewalker to thank for that," she said snidely.

"Finn, why?" Thalia asked.

"He, and those two idiots who were unstrapped when we landed, knocked a bunch of cables loose, which sent power surges throughout the electrical system, which short circuited the computer equipment and fried a lot of the wiring in here," Ember explained testily.

The two idiots in question where Glen Dickson and Troy Davis; their bodies had been laid out in another compartment. Thalia would have them buried later – she remembered hearing that that is what people on Earth use to do with their dead – but right now there was work to be done.

"We're lucky the retro rockets on this thing were tied into the backup systems or else they might not have fired at all, and we wouldn't have slowed down enough to survive the crash," Antonia pointed out.

"It's gonna take a while to go over everything and see how much we can safely salvage," Ember already sounded exasperated.

"Only reason the lights are on now," Conner said helpfully, "is because the emergency backup lighting is on a separate power cell."

"I wouldn't recommend trying to turn anything else on just yet," Ember cut across him. "Right now the wiring in this ship is one big electrical fire waiting to happen." The burn scars on Ember's arms testified that she knew what she was talking about. She had been working as an electrician when an electrical fire had broken out, and had found out that it was caused by a coworker's mistake. What she hadn't realized at the time was that someone had tried to cover it up, and wasn't above letting her take the blame for it, which explained her anger and impatience at having to deal with other peoples' mistakes.

"The bottom line is that we're not talking to the Ark," Carter said to Thalia.

"There's not enough left of the communications system for us to fix," Holly confirmed.

"What about all the other systems?" Thalia asked thoughtfully. "Can you use what's not damaged from them to rebuild the communications system?" They all looked at her, and exchanged glances with each other.

"That could work if the components are compatible," said Violet, tying her brown hair back with a black ribbon to keep it out of her eyes – an old habit she had to help her think.

Violet was a self-proclaimed inventor, with an exceedingly curious mind, which is what had gotten her into trouble on the Ark. From a very young age she had always wanted to know how things worked, so she would take apart whatever made her curious and try to put it back together. More often than not she succeeded, and learned how to make improvements. Trouble for her came when she took apart something that was off limits. Not out of disregard for the rules, but more out of childlike curiosity. She could have put it back together (with her own improvements) if the person who found her had waited before calling security. If there was anyone down here who could figure out how to rebuild the communications system from parts of different machines, it was Violet.

"First thing we need to do is take apart the casing and see how bad it is, what needs to be replaced," Violet said.

"We already know we need a new circuit board," said Carter, "This one's slaged."

"We can take one out of the computer array," said Holly, pulling out a panel on one of the machines.

"Hold on, we may need those," Conner said. "The computers probably have information stored that can help us learn how to survive down here."

"Assuming, of course, that the hard drives weren't damaged and the data is still intact," Antonia put in.

"I can pull some of the wiring from over here and use it to tie the communication system into the computer array," Ember said. "We can connect them both to the backup power cell."

"That's good," said Annalee. "But the communication system would still be useless without a working transmitter."

And they were all off discussing whether or not they could repair or replace the transmitter, which pieces of equipment they could scrap for parts, and which parts they could not afford to lose. Thalia was glad for the distraction when the hatch to the first level was opened and someone climbed up. She was much better at dealing with people than technology; she could leave that to their resident geniuses. She turned to face the two new people who had come into the room, a boy and a girl.

The girl, Tandoori Angel, had light brown hair that hung loose past her shoulders and a face too serious for her age. Tandoori, or Tandy as some people called her, was as smart as the others in the room, but more book smart than tech smart. The Ark library was temperature and climate controlled to preserve the books that were mostly kept behind glass cases. Tandy had read every book in the library that she could get access to (and many that she wasn't allowed access to) and remembered every word she'd ever read. She had been arrested for smuggling books out of the library.

"Thalia," Tandoori said. She nodded to where the others were still discussing (arguing). "You understanding anything that the tech heads are saying?"

Antonia, who was closest to them, looked over and scowled. "I'm a computer hacker."

"That's what I said," replied Tandoori with a smirk, "You're a techno freak."

"I prefer to be called a hacker," Antonia said angrily, stepping forward.

Thalia turned away from whatever argument they were about to have, which she got the sense had already been repeated many times before. Thalia knew that Antonia and Tandoori had always been antagonistic towards each other (at least as long as she'd known them) but she'd never gotten a clear reason why, mostly because she didn't really care. She turned to the boy who had come in.

"Danny, you wanted something?"

"Do you have a minute?" Danny asked, nodding towards the hatch. He let Thalia go down first and then followed her down to the first level.

"What is it?" she asked right away.

"You asked me to keep an eye on that new guy, Bellamy" Danny said. "You were right about him being trouble. He's talking people into taking off their wristbands so that the Ark thinks we're dead." He told her about the conversation with Bellamy, Murphy and Mbege. "He's trying to put himself in charge down here."

Thalia didn't say anything. She walked over to the door of the drop ship and looked out at camp. The problem was that she knew a lot of the people down here would agree with not wanting the people on the Ark to come down, especially those who were orphans, who didn't have family on the Ark. Hell, part of Thalia had been thinking the same thing: the council had kept her locked up for half of her life, had taken her family from her, so screw them. She sure as hell didn't want to go back to living under the Chancellor's rules. But she did still have someone on the Ark that she wanted to see again. Looking back at Danny, she knew that a lot of other people did too. Still, Thalia knew that if Bellamy was recruiting that it wouldn't take much for people to get swept up in the high of their new found freedom. Too bad, she would have to do something about that.

"It won't matter what Bellamy and those guys do if we can get the communications system working, right?" Danny asked, drawing Thalia out of her thoughts.

"From what I could understand of the tech talk up there, they think they can get it to work, but they need a new transmitter," said Thalia.

"Where are they gonna get one of those? I doubt they have a parts depot down here," Danny said, pushing his hair that had come loose out of his eyes. Thalia's eyes caught on his wristband and she stared, thinking. "What?" Danny asked.

"These wristbands are all transmitting a signal to the Ark," she said.

"Yeah, so…?"

"So maybe one of our resident geniuses can turn one into a transmitter for the communication system."

Understanding dawned in Danny's eyes and he smiled, and then frowned when Thalia kept looking at him. "No," he said taking a step back. "Why can't they use yours?"

"Because you can get something that I can't get," Thalia explained. "Access, to Bellamy and whoever else is with him. You where one of the first people he talked to; Take off your wristband and they'll think you're one of them." When Danny still hesitated, Thalia stepped in front of him and looked him in the eye. "You want to see your mother again Danny? The best way to make that happen is to talk to the Ark. And keep an eye on Bellamy to make sure he and those other guys don't do something stupid."

Danny looked at Thalia and nodded, "OK."

Thalia went over to the ladder and called up for Conner and Antonia to come down. Tandoori came down with them, and Thalia filled them in on what Danny had told her and her idea for the wristbands.

"It should work," Antonia agreed, "If we can wire it into the communications system."

"Don't try to explain, just do it," Thalia said.

Conner worked at getting Danny's wristband off, using some tools that were in storage, while Antonia warning him to be careful not to deactivate it. When it was finally off Antonia examined it and said, "Yes, it's still active."

"You better get to work them," Danny said, rubbing his wrist.

"Antonia, tell the others not to let anyone know what they're doing in there," Thalia instructed. Antonia nodded and went back up to the second level. "Conner, hold on," Thalia said when Conner moved to follow her. "There's something else I need you to do."

Conner, Danny and Tandoori all came over to where Thalia was standing by the door again, in the shadow of the doorframe so that she could see out but no one looking in could see her. While they had been working on the wristband, Thalia had been considering the best way to handle Bellamy. Bellamy was going to offer them freedom, from the Ark, the council, the Chancellor and the rules - As long as he was in charge. Thalia's advantage was that she knew these people, and they knew her. Like Conner, who had gotten into plenty of fights both before and after he had been arrested. His reputation as a fighter had earned him respect in lockup, as well as the fact that most of his fights had been provoked when he was defending someone else. People liked Conner, he had friends around here.

"What?" Conner asked her. "What are you thinking?"

"I think our schemer is scheming," said Tandoori, recognizing the look on Thalia's face, "Coming up with a Coup de main, better known as preemptive strike."

"Calm down Tandy. It's nothing too dramatic just yet," said Thalia, then she turned to Conner. "I just want you to get reacquainted with some friends. People tend to follow the first idea that gets into their heads; Get to them before Bellamy does."

"And tell them what exactly?" Conner asked.

"That the world is big enough for all of us," Thalia said rolling her eyes. "Improvise something, they'll listen to you. Just try to be subtle. I don't want Bellamy to catch on. Go on." Thalia smiled at him and he smiled back. Conner walked out of the drop ship and called to two guys, friends of his, who were heading out of camp and caught up to them. Thalia stopped smiling as soon as he was gone.

Tandoori turned to her with an incredulous look on her face. "Do you always get people to do what you want so easily?"

"Sometimes you just have to ask nicely," Thalia shrugged, looking out of the door again.

Tandoori scoffed, "Yeah right. It's not often that _you_ are just being nice."

"You really think Conner can get people to listen to you instead of Bellamy?" Danny asked. "I mean, the idea of no rules is pretty tempting to a bunch of delinquents."

"People like Conner, they'll listen to him if he has something smart to say," said Thalia.

Tandoori scoffed again, "That doesn't happen often either."

"Which is why he won't be the only one that I trust to talk to people," Thalia said, her eyes landing on someone else that she counted as one of her real friends: Jason, a handsome boy with blond hair and blue eyes.

"That's funny," Tandoori said, "since you don't _really_ trust anyone, except maybe Annabeth. 'Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find'."

Thalia didn't respond to that. Instead she turned to Danny and asked, "Who did you say Bellamy was talking to?"

"Those two Johns, Mbege and Murphy," Danny replied.

"He's recruiting thugs. I'm not surprised." Thalia thought that this might actually work in her favour. As far as anyone knew, Danny Desai had been arrested for murder, but Thalia could tell you that he had been framed for murder. Rumor of what he had supposedly done, and the way he handled himself in lockup, made him someone people generally didn't mess with, and made people like Murphy and Mbege think he was one of them. Danny would be able to stay close to those guys and let her know any move they were making. "If Bellamy has muscle on his side then we're going to need people who actually know how to fight."

Thalia was already running through a list of people who she knew could fight - who had had some training - some of whom she'd been in fights with herself and done more than one stint in solitary because of it. Thalia looked out through the door again scanning camp until she landed on one of the faces she was looking for: Clarisse La Rue, an athletic 17 year old girl, with anger issues. She and her two friends, Daphne and Sharee, had forced a group of younger, smaller kids out of their spot in the shade, and were talking to each other. Clarisse was certainly not one of Thalia's favorite people, and the feeling was mutual. Clarisse was a bully, but she was also smart, some of the others followed her, and she had family on the Ark (her father came to see her on prisoner visiting days).

Thalia knew that Clarisse and her friends wouldn't want to follow her, but they sure as hell wouldn't take orders from Bellamy either.

"Oh, please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," Tandoori said, following Thalia's gaze to where Clarisse and her friends sat.

"I have to start somewhere," Thalia replied.

"You two have never exactly been friends from what I've heard," Tandoori pointed out.

Thalia knew that she was thinking of an incident that happened not long after Clarisse had been confined two years ago. Clarisse had made her mark intimidating those who were weaker than her and trying to take down those who were stronger. Thalia wasn't one to back down; words were said, things escalated from there and they both ended up doing three months in solitary. From that came a mutual enmity, but it was underlined with a mutual respect that they both had for someone who doesn't back down.

"Let me worry about that," said Thalia.

"Good luck," Danny said doubtfully.

"Don't you have something to do?" Thalia said without looking at him. Danny just shrugged and walked off. She knew that he would do what she asked and stay close to Bellamy – Thalia would rather keep her distance for now.

"Exactly how are you planning to get Clarisse on your side?" Tandoori asked uncertainly.

"I don't need her with me," said Thalia. "I just need her against Bellamy."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"Tandy, an easy way to get people to do what you want is to let them think that it was their idea in the first place."

As Thalia walked out of the drop ship Tandoori called after her, "I think I'll stay out of the line of fire for this one."


	7. The Ark Is Dying!

Chapter 7 - The Ark Is Dying!

Finn was leading the way down a steep incline with the rest of the group following him. They all picked their steps very carefully, avoiding rocks and the roots of the trees that reached so high that they couldn't see the top, until they reached the bottom of the incline where the ground leveled out.

"You know what I'd like to know," said Finn. "Why did they send us down here today, after 97 years? What changed?"

"Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest," Octavia said holding the trunk of a thin tree with one hand and spinning around it.

"Yeah, you're a real fairy princess," Emily said, stalking past her.

"Maybe they found something on a satellite," said Monty. "You know, like an old weather satellite or..."

"It wasn't a satellite. The Ark is dying." They all stopped and turned to Clarke at that ominous pronouncement. "With the current population level there's roughly three months left of life support. Maybe four, now that we're gone."

"So that was the secret they locked you up to keep?" asked Finn. "Why they floated your dad?"

"My father was the engineer and he discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The council disagreed…my mother disagreed. They were afraid that it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public anyway, when Wells..." Clarke trained off.

"When he what? Turned in your dad?" asked Monty.

"Anyway, the guards showed up before we could," Clarke pressed on. "That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die…at least they bought themselves some more time."

"They're gonna kill more people aren't they?" Jasper asked worriedly. Clarke didn't answer, which was answer enough.

"Good," said Octavia, "After what they did to me I say float 'em all." She and Annabeth walked on ahead of the group.

Finn put his hand on Clarke's arm. "We have to warn them," he said.

"That's what my father said," said Clarke.

_And look where that got him_, Emily thought sadly. She stayed quiet through Clark's explanation. She knew it hurt Clarke to talk about her father, or Wells for that matter. It was all old news to her anyway, and though she knew a slightly different version of the story, she did not want to be in the middle of it. Emily walked on ahead of Clarke and Finn and heard Annabeth and Octavia talking.

"You don't really mean that," Annabeth said to Octavia – a fact, not a question.

"You think I don't?" Octavia said defensively.

"I _know_ you don't," said Emily coming up to them. "With the way you grew up you have plenty of reasons to be a total bitch – whereas for me it's just my natural setting," All three of them cracked a smile at that, "But you wouldn't really want people to die." Emily looked Octavia in the eye, "You're angry, but you're not cold. Trust me, I've seen people who are, and you're not."

"You're talking about your father?" Octavia asked, curious despite herself.

"Councilor Kane is a cold hearted bastard with a God complex, who thinks he's the man who's going to save the human race," Emily said with contempt. She walked on saying, "Clarke's dad was more of a father to me than he ever was. He can go float himself for all I care."

"Wow," Annabeth said quietly to Octavia. "And I thought that you and I had issues."

"Oh my God," Emily said ahead of them. Octavia and Annabeth caught up to her and stared in amazement at what had made her stop. "Amazing, there's so much of it."

Annabeth turned to Octavia smiling. "Do you want to go first?" she asked. Octavia smiled back.

Clarke and the boys were making their way to the break in the trees that Emily, Annabeth and Octavia had already reached when she bumped into Jasper who had stopped suddenly and was staring ahead with his mouth open. "I love Earth!" he said.

Clarke looked ahead of Jasper and saw what had him so dumbstruck. Octavia was at the top of a rise of rocks stripping off her jumpsuit until she had on only her red shirt and underwear. "Octavia what the hell are you doing?" Clarke called out.

Octavia turned and smiled mischievously.

"Go for it!" Annabeth said. She and Emily where watching further back from the ledge.

"Is there any particular reason why you keep letting her go first?" Emily asked, remembering that Annabeth had been the one to say that Octavia should be the first one off the drop ship.

"Just letting her have some fun," Annabeth said with a shrug. "Anyway, if you wanted to go first then why didn't you?"

"Because if there is something dangerous out there, better her than me," Emily said nonchalantly.

Annabeth gave her a scrutinizing look. Emily's face was completely neutral, giving no hint of what she may really be thinking, and Annabeth got the sense that she'd had a lot of practice perfecting that mask.

They both looked back at Octavia in time to see her turn and jump off the ledge. They heard a splash. Clarke, Finn, Monty and Jasper rushed forward to where Emily and Annabeth had a better view, and started laughing in both relief and amazement. Octavia had jumped into a river.

"Oh my God," Clarke said, having the same reaction that Emily had to seeing so much water in one place, moving slowly, smoothly and endlessly. Octavia was a short distance away from the shore with only her head above water.

"Octavia, we can't swim," Monty called out to her.

"No, but we can stand," she replied, laughing. She stood up showing that the water only came up to her chest. "Come on in."

The others started taking off their shoes and jackets, eager to go for a swim, something that no one on the Ark had ever done before. "Wait," Clarke hesitated. "There's not supposed to be a river here." She reached into her pack to check the map.

"Well there is, Clarke," Emily said, moving down to where the edge of rocks was closer to the water.

"Yeah, so take your damn clothes off," Finn sad teasingly. Clarke smiled at him, set down her pack and started pulling her jacket off like everyone else.

Emily was the only one not getting undressed. She scooped up a handful of water to tentatively taste it. "That is so good," she said to the others, filling a canteen. "Fresh, unfiltered, unrecycled water. I never knew water could have a taste."

Annabeth was about to go in and join Octavia when she looked out past her and saw something else in the river.

"Octavia, get out of the water," Annabeth called out. The others all stopped what they were doing - Emily moved away from the edge - and looked out over the river to see what had her concerned.

"Look, there." Annabeth pointed across the river at a shape moving quickly under the water making ripples on the surface. It was heading straight for Octavia! "Octavia get out of the water now!" Annabeth shouted. Octavia turned to see what they were all looking at, and didn't even have time to scream before she was pulled under the water.

"Octavia!" Jasper shouted her name and ran to the edge of the rocks, frantically looking up and down the river for her. "Where is she? Do you see her?"

The sound of splashing and a muffled scream had them all looking to the right, further upriver. "She's there," Annabeth shouted, seeing Octavia being pulled through the water. They took off running along the shore trying to get closer.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Monty asked.

"We have to help her!" said Finn, ready to jump in after her.

"What are you gonna do?" asked Clarke.

"Try not to get eaten," Finn said moving towards the edge.

"Wait," said Clarke, pulling him back, "If we distract it, it might let her go." She went over to some loose rocks near the edge of the river. "Help me!" she said trying to push them in. Finn joined her and some of the small rocks fell into the river, but the bigger ones were stuck.

"Move," said Emily, drawing her sword. They shifted out of her way and she forced the end of her blade into the crack beneath the rocks and used to better leverage to force the rocks over the edge. The bigger splashes got the creatures attention.

"It worked. It let her go," said Monty.

"Octavia, get to the shore now!" Jasper yelled, running to where the riverbank was lower down so that he could reach her.

"The water's deeper there. She can't swim," Annabeth warned, seeing that Octavia couldn't stand up.

Jasper didn't hesitate; he jumped in and got an arm around Octavia. His feet could just barely touch bottom, but he started pulling her back to shore as best he could. The creature that grabbed Octavia swam right where the rocks had fallen into the river and Clarke, Emily and Finn got a good look at it. It looked like a giant snake, maybe 15 feet long and a foot thick, with green and black skin. They stared in stunned silence as it passed right beneath them, cutting through the water effortlessly. Finding nothing of interest at the source of the splashes the creature circled around, heading back to where it had dropped Octavia.

"It's coming back!" Monty warned from the shore. "It's heading right for you guys!"

Jasper reached the riverbank with Octavia, and Monty and Annabeth rushed forward to help them. Jasper pushed Octavia up to the edge where Annabeth got hold of her and pulled her up, while Jasper climbed up with Monty's help. "Pull your feet up," Annabeth warned. Jasper and Octavia got their feet clear of the water not a second too soon as they looked back and saw the river snake swim by, right where they had been just a moment ago.

Annabeth brushed Octavia's wet hair aside to see her face. "Are you alright?" she asked. Octavia's eyes were wide and she was shaking, but she nodded yes.

"Let me see," said Clarke kneeling next to Octavia and examining the bite in her leg. Clarke tore a strip from Jasper's shirt to tie around the wound. "You're gonna be Ok," she reassured Octavia.

Octavia turned to Jasper, who was lying next to her trying to catch his breath, and hugged him. "Thank you," she said.

"Note to self: next time, save the girl," said Monty patting Jasper on the shoulder. The others laughed, glad for a little relief.

"What on Earth was that thing?" Finn asked looking out at the river. The snake was nowhere in sight now.

"Who the hell knows? Some kind of mutation caused by radiation, maybe," said Emily leaning against a boulder well back from the edge of the water. "But at least now we know, from now on land safe, water not safe."


	8. Whatever The Hell We Want!

Chapter 8 - Whatever The Hell We Want!

Glass was exhausted - walking through the woods and being in the sun all day had taken a lot out of her. She and Wells had gone out into the woods several times looking for water, going in a different direction each time for about half a mile before circling back to camp. She was thirsty, everyone was, and it was going to become a serious problem very soon if they didn't have water, but the only thing they'd found was a gully with stream bed in it that had a shallow trickle of water running through it that was too clouded and muddy to drink. She hopped that Clarke and the others were having better luck and would be able to tell them where to find water when they got back tomorrow. Glass exhaled and watched her breath crystalize, lingering far longer than it would on the Ark, where the ventilation system practically sucked the air from your lungs before it could leave your mouth. The air felt so much fuller here.

Glass was sitting on the ramp of the drop ship watching the fires that people had managed to get started. There were a few small fires around camp that had groups of people gathered around them for warmth and a much larger crowd gathered around a big bonfire in the center of camp.

The crowd around the bonfire cheered about something but Glass couldn't see what they were doing from where she was, and she would just as soon stay out of it. Two people from one of the smaller fires got up and came towards the drop ship. Glass shifted out of their way to let them pass; they didn't say anything to her, but she recognized the girl as one of the people who had been in the drop ship with Thalia earlier. That group had been in and out of the drop ship all day but Glass hadn't seen Thalia in a while, which was just fine with her. Thalia made her wary – a lot of people did, actually. She and Wells would be better off keeping to themselves, along with Emily and Clarke when they get back.

A hand on Glass' shoulder startled her. "Hey," said Wells coming out of the drop ship behind her. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Are you OK?"

Glass smiled at his concern. "I'm just a little hungry and thirsty," she said. It was more than a little but complaining about it wouldn't help. "Other than that I'm fine."

Another cheer went up around the bonfire. "What's going on over there?" Wells asked.

"I don't know. Something's been happening," Glass told him, hopping he would stay out of it, but knowing that he wouldn't.

Wells started walking towards the bonfire, and with a heavy sigh Glass got up to follow him. They made their way to the front of the crowd and saw Bellamy standing by the fire watching Mbege and Murphy prying the wristband off of a long haired brunette girl kneeling next to the fire.

When they got it off Murphy tossed the wristband into the fire with several others that had already been discarded. The girl, Fox, stood up and held up her bare wrist for everyone to see; the crowd cheered again. "Who's next?" Bellamy called out.

"What the hell are you doing?" Wells said, stepping forward.

Mbege moved towards him, ready to start another fight, but Bellamy put a hand on his chest to stop him and turned to Wells. "We're liberating ourselves," said Bellamy. "What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're trying to get us all killed!" said Wells. He raised his voice so that the crowd could hear him over the crackling of the fire. "The communications system is dead. These wristbands are all we've got. Take them off and the Ark will think we're dying, that it's not safe for them to follow."

"That's the point, Chancellor," Bellamy said mockingly. "We can take care of ourselves. Can't we?!"

"Yeah!" the crowd cheered.

"You think this is a game?" Wells asked. "Those aren't just our friends and our parents up there. There are doctors, our farmers, our engineers. I don't care what he tells you, we won't survive on our own down here." He turned to Bellamy, "And besides, if it really is safe, how could you not want the rest of our people to come down?"

"My people already are down," said Bellamy gesturing to the crowd. "Those people locked my people up. Those people killed my mother for the crime of having a second child. Your father did that."

"My father didn't write the laws," said Wells.

"No, he enforced them," Bellamy said angrily. "But not down here. Here, we do whatever the hell we want, whenever the hell we want. There are no laws!" The crowd cheered him on. "You don't have to like it Wells. You can even try to stop it, change it…kill me. You know why? Whatever the hell we want."

"Whatever the hell we want!" Murphy shouted and the gathered crowd took up the chant, pumping their fists in the air.

Wells looked around at the crowd disbelievingly and then looked back at Bellamy. He looked like he wanted to hit him, but Glass knew that he wouldn't. Wells would keep a cool head and try to reason with Bellamy, but Glass was already convinced that these people could not be reasoned with, that they didn't care about anything but themselves. She was also sure that if people thought that they could do 'whatever the hell they want' then they would eventually start hurting each other; it would be best to stay away from them when that happened.

Before things could go any further a line of harsh, jagged light flashed across the sky and there was a deafening rumble above them that felt as if it shook the ground. People stopped chanting and looked up at the sky as water began to fall on them. "Rain! It's raining!" someone shouted. People all over camp, at the other fires, started shouting and moving around – some fearfully, having never seen rain and not knowing that it was harmless. Most were excited; they turned their faces to the sky trying to catch rain water in their mouths.

"We need to collect this," Wells said to Bellamy.

"Whatever the hell you want," Bellamy said calmly. Wells, realizing that Bellamy wasn't going to do anything useful, turned and walked away with Glass. Bellamy watched them go, and then turned his face to the sky, enjoying the new experience along with everyone else.

.

_Off in the distance there is resistance bubbling up and festering_

_Hey Mr. Motion, make me a potion. Shake it all up with your mystery_

_How come I've never seen your face 'round here? I know every single face down here…_

_._

On the roof of the drop ship Thalia was doing the same thing. She leaned her head back, feeling the rain water trail down her face and through her hair. It was both refreshing and exhilarating at the same time.

She had come onto the roof to see how Antonia and Violet were doing trying to repair some of the external damage. She'd stayed to watch the sunset. It was insane to see the changes that happened as the sun went down, the light shifting, and the barrage of different colours painted in the sky – blue, orange, yellow and pink all blended together - before it all faded to black and the stars appeared. The words that they'd been taught to describe a sunset failed in comparison to the real thing.

Being up here was also therapeutic for her. She looked back down towards the bonfire and had to take a deep breath to steady herself. Truth be told, Thalia hated heights. When she was a child (before she'd been confined) she had hated going onto the observation decks, or the Skybridge on the Ark. Even standing right up by the rail on the walkway outside of her cell in the Skybox and looking down at the lower levels had made her uneasy. She was a safe distance from the edge of the roof, but her nerves were still telling her to move further back (or better yet, go inside). _Don't leave, don't go, don't run, don't hide, don't cry; don't ever feel scared_, Thalia heard a familiar voice in her mind. Thinking of the mantra from her childhood Thalia forced herself to stay where she was now. Facing your fears was supposed to make them go away, but she had yet to see proof of that. Thalia could face her fears, but it hadn't made the fear any less.

"'Lord, what fools these mortals be'," said Tandoori, pulling Thalia back into the conversation. Thalia looked at her questioningly. "It's from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meaning, those people are idiots. They're not thinking about what could happen tomorrow, or the next day..."

"They're having fun, which probably means that they're not thinking at all," Antonia pointed out as she covered the exposed components that she and Violet had been working on. "We'll have to finish working on these tomorrow," said Violet.

"You'd think that people would be smarter than this," said Jason standing beside Thalia.

"A _person_ can be smart, Jason. People in general are stupid and simple. They will follow the first solution that is offered to them. No matter how boneheaded it is," said Thalia.

"Mob Mentality," said Tandoori. "A syndrome by which people feel compelled to act in a certain way following behaviour and trends that they see taken up by others, often with a negative result."

"What text book did you swallow?" Jason asked.

"All of them," Antonia mockingly answered for Tandoori.

Even before Jason and Tandy came up to the roof to tell Thalia what was happening below she could have guessed based on the cheering around the big bonfire and who she could see by the light of the flames - Bellamy was right in the middle of it. Danny was right there next to him looking every bit like one of Bellamy's followers and playing his part well. As Thalia had predicted, most people had taken the side of whoever had gotten to them first, and so far it looked like an almost even split. Bellamy had about 30 or 40 people gathered around the bonfire but the other half of The 100, the groups around the smaller fires, were staying away and taking no part in it. At one of those fires Thalia could see Conner with a group of his friends; at another she spotted Rileigh Byrne and Kayla Shumway. Those two could be very valuable – they were both fighters. Kayla's father and Rileigh's mother were both a high ranking officers within the Guard, and had raised them to be officers as well. Kayla was a soldier; she would want to follow the Chancellor's order not to remove their wristbands – and she would be looking for someone to follow now, out of habit if nothing else. Rileigh, she was more party-girl than soldier-girl but she'd gone through the training. Thalia would talk to them herself later.

Thalia searched out someone she had already spoken to; Clarisse was by one of the fires at the edge of camp looking towards the bonfire with her two friends on either side of her. She looked angry, but then again Clarisse always looked angry. It had been easier than Thalia had thought to turn Clarisse against Bellamy. All it took was a little reverse psychology; Thalia let it slip to Clarisse that the new guy was taking over and that she wouldn't be surprised if Clarisse ended up as one of his flunkies. Of course that made Clarisse angry - she was nobody's flunky. Even if she agreed with Bellamy, her pride wouldn't let her follow him, not after thinking that someone like Thalia assumed that she would. Thalia didn't think it would take too much more to get Clarisse (and by extension, her friends) on her side, if she was careful and offered the right incentive.

"So are we gonna do something about this?" Jason asked.

"Yes we will, but not yet. Starting a fight now could end up killing us all a lot faster than a few people taking off their wristbands." And Thalia had no interest in fighting with Bellamy.

"'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting' – Sun Tzu, The Art of War," quoted Tandoori.

"And I've told you before," Thalia continued, "that there are better ways of getting what you need besides fighting. You just have to wait for the right time."

"'The strongest of all warriors are these two: Time and Patience'," said Tandoori, "Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace."

"Enough with the quotes already," Antonia said irritably.

"Just because you've never read anything outside of a computer manual..." Tandoori started to argue.

"Are you two really gonna do this now?" Violet asked in exasperation.

"Are they always like that?" Jason asked Thalia.

"Pretty much," Thalia answered with a shrug, and then she turned to the others. "We should probably all be getting out of the rain now," Thalia said, forestalling their argument. They all headed down the hatch into the drop ship. Thalia went down last.

XXXXX

Cece Kane was once again on her way to the Earth Monitoring Control Room. She had other work to attend to throughout the day but had been checking in intermittently to get an update of the situation on Earth. She had not been able to let go of the tension she had felt since those two wristband signals went out, and it had only increased as other tiles on the board started to go dark. As she entered Earth Monitoring Cece held her breath scanning the board, and then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Emily's tile was still active. And she was relieved to see that Clarke's was as well.

Cece walked up to Abby who was studying the board worriedly. "Emily and Clarke are doing all right," Abby said, anticipating her first question.

"How many more did we lose?" Cece went right on to her second question.

"Ten more," said Abby. Both mothers were significantly terrified that the next signal to go out could be one of their daughters'.

"Abby," Doctor Jackson said coming up to the board. "Look at plasma osmolarity. It's going up across the board."

"What does that mean?" Cece asked - she was no doctor.

"They've found water!" Abby said joyfully. She clasped her friend's hand and they both smiled. The children had found one of the essentials that they would need to survive.

The moment was interrupted by a team of guards entering the room, let by Vice Chancellor Marcus Kane and Commander Shumway. "Councilor Abigail Griffin, you're under arrest for exceeding the maximum medical supplies allowed per patient," Shumway announced.

"Marcus, what are you doing?" Cece asked her husband.

Kane spoke directly to Abby. "Sorry this has to be public. But policy in these matters is very clear. No special treatment." Kane started to turn away, and then turned back to her. "How much blood did you give him, Abby?"

"Don't answer that," Jackson said hurriedly.

"I used whatever it took," Abby stated boldly. "Breaking the law to keep you from becoming Chancellor was the easiest decision I've ever made."

"In that case, given your confession, and in my role as acting Chancellor, you leave me no choice but to find you guilty," Kane said smugly.

"We always have a choice Kane," Abby countered. "You choose to press charges against my husband, your friend, even though you knew he would get floated for it. You choose to include _my daughter_ in those charges. And now you're choosing this. Hiding behind the law absolves you of nothing." Her contempt for him was very clear.

"Be that as it may, because all crimes committed by those over the age of maturity are capital crimes, you are hereby sentenced to death. Execution is set for the morning." Kane continued with an air of superiority, "And I choose at every turn and at any cost to make sure that the human race stays alive."

"That's the difference between us Kane," Abby said as he started to turn away. "I choose to make sure that we _deserve_ to stay alive."

Kane signaled the guards to take her away; Abby was handcuffed and led out of the room while Jackson and Cece watched. There was nothing they could do to help her. Abby was taken to the prison station, the Skybox. The handcuffs were removed and she was deposited into a cell. Looking around she knew immediately where she was. The walls were covered in drawings of plants, animals, old buildings – she was in Clark's cell.

Abby noticed the last drawing that Clarke had made on the floor of the cell, the image of looking up at the night sky through the trees. Choking back a sob, Abby knelt down and touched it. She hopped that Clarke was getting to see the real thing as beautifully as she'd pictured it.

Thinking of Clarke, Abby didn't try to hold back the tears.

She cried not for her own fate but for her daughter. Clarke would be left an orphan; Abby would never get to see her again, never get to hug her, would never even know if Clarke survived. They would never stand on the ground together and look up at the sky.

Abby cried for all that had been lost and all that would never be.

.

* * *

Author's Note: The lyrics in theis chapter are from _Ready, Aim, Fire!_ by Imagine Dragons


	9. Glow In The Dark Forest

Chapter 9 - Glow In The Dark Forest

After the incident at the river the group retreated back into the shelter of the trees to settle down for the night. They would find a way to get across the river in the morning. They found a patch of soft, thick moss to sleep in for the night and they fell asleep quickly after a long exhausting day. Clarke was lying on her back using her pack as a pillow when something roused her from sleep. She opened her eyes and was confused by the soft glowing light around her. As she sat up her mouth dropped open in wonder. The forest around them looked like it was glowing! Bluish-green light was coming from the bushes, the moss growing on the tree bark, even the moss and grass that they were lying in.

Clarke looked around at the others. Monty had his head resting on a tree root; Jasper was leaning against the trunk of a tree with Octavia beside him, her head on his shoulder; Annabeth was curled up on her side looking peaceful; Emily was right beside Clarke, stretched out on her side with her sword resting loosely in her hands.

Clarke smiled; they were all still fast asleep. She put her hand on Emily's shoulder and shook her gently. "Em, wake up. You have to see this. It's so beautiful," she said softly.

Emily's grip tightened on her sword. "Is it something that's trying to kill us?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"No."

"Then let me sleep," Emily said, relaxing again.

Clarke looked around again and noticed that Finn was missing. She shook Emily's shoulder again, "Hey, have you seen Finn?"

"Eyes are closed…" Emily said tiredly, "Can't see anyone."

Clarke let her go back to sleep and got up to look for Finn herself. She wouldn't go too far from the group; she could call out if she needed help. Honestly, she really wanted to see more of the glowing forest. As Clarke walked through the forest she couldn't stop smiling. This whole place was incredible. Looking up, she saw that the tops of the trees were in shadows, but lower down everything was illuminated. Clarke stopped to look at a patch of wild mushrooms glowing in various shades of blue and green. The glow cast a rainbow of muted colour over her face.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Finn said behind her.

Clarke turned to look at him and saw that he was holding a big leaf folded to serve as a cup, with water in it. "Did you go to the river?"

"I figured it was worth losing a few fingers," he said. They had all shared the canteen that Emily had been able to fill, but between seven people who had been hiking all day, it wasn't much. Clarke gratefully accepted the leaf cup when Finn handed it to her and drank down the water. "You think this means we're all gonna grow two heads?" he asked, drawing a laugh from Clarke. "What do you know, she can laugh. Come on, you have to see this."

Finn led her over to where the ground was dirt instead of moss and knelt down, pointing out some tracks in the dirt. "That's a toe, and near as I can tell, whatever it is, it's walking on two feet. My guess, monkeys."

Clarke laughed again. "I'm sorry. It's just that according to everything I've read there were no bipedal animals anywhere near here, certainly not monkeys."

"Really," said Finn. "Did you read anything about glow in the dark forests or giant man-eating snakes? A lot can change in a hundred years."

"All right, fair point," said Clarke.

Emily didn't fall back to sleep after Clarke woke her, she lay with her eyes closed for several minutes hopping to drift off again. When that didn't seem likely she rolled onto her back and opened her eyes. She saw the glowing above and around her – Clarke was right, it was beautiful – but her thoughts of home overrode her curiosity of this new world. She stared up at the patch of sky that she could see through the treetops. It was strange to see the moon from so far away, so small and featureless, like waking up to find that someone's face had been erased.

Up there on the Ark her mother was probably monitoring what was happening to them on Earth through the wristbands, along with Clarke's mom. Emily traced her fingers over the wristband she wore. She was grateful for it for her mother's sake, so that she would know that Emily was ok. Emily had never questioned that her mother loved her – even if her mother never could stand up to her father – and she didn't doubt that her mother was worried sick. But Callie Kane would hold it together, like always.

Her father on the other hand… Emily went from tracing the wristband to tracing the cross on her necklace, a gift from her grandmother (her father's mother), the religious leader on the Ark. Emily wasn't sure if her father had stopped loving her…or had just decided that everything else was more important.

_._

_Don't you remember I'm your baby girl? How could you push me out of your world?_

_Lie to your flesh and your blood…Turn your back on the ones that you swore you loved_

_._

Emily knew the laws on the Ark, had grown up memorizing them, and she knew what she was doing when she broke the law. Maybe she'd been shortsighted, acting in anger, not thinking clearly; maybe she was a little bit crazy like Glass had jokingly said before. But she had just wanted her father to take notice of her. To really see _her_, not just the perfect daughter, the puppet that he'd tried to make of her. And some part of her – a naïve, childish part – had hoped that her father would at least try to protect her, to save her. He could have…but no.

The people who had sent the prisoners down to Earth had no real convictions that they would survive, Marcus Kane least of all. And he sent her down here anyway. Her father cared about the _idea_ of people, of saving mankind; he just didn't give a damn about the people who were right there in front of him.

_He probably gave us all up for dead the minute the first wristband signals went out from those boys who died in the crash_, Emily thought, angrily wiping away a few tears that had come to her eyes. She hadn't cried over her father brushing her aside since she was twelve and she wasn't going to start now.

_._

_Don't you remember I'm your baby girl? How could you throw me right out of your world?_

_So young when the pain had begun; now forever afraid of being unloved_

_._

Hearing something approaching, Emily reflexively reached for her sword, but it was only Clarke and Finn coming back. Emily closed her eyes pretending to sleep - she didn't want to talk. She heard Clarke and Finn settle down, and after a while started to drift back to sleep herself. Her last thought was that at least the stars look the same form Earth as they did from the Ark.

**XXXXX**

Cece opened the door to her living quarters and found Marcus having a drink and listening to classical music. Seeing him acting so casually while she felt as though her world was coming apart around her only fueled her anger.

"Are you out of you mind?!" she said. "You can't kill _everyone_ who disagrees with you!"

"I know you all think I'm the bad guy," Marcus said, setting down his drink. "But I am the only one with the vision to save us. Who's willing to do whatever it takes!"

At the moment Cece couldn't care less about his 'vision'. "She's my best friend!"

"What do you want me to say, 'I'm sorry'?" he said stepping forward to meet her in the middle of the room. "I'm not; friendship is a luxury we can't afford. And if I have to take us down to a cosmic Adam and Eve, I will do it."

"Please, show mercy," Cece pleaded, "If not for Abby then for _me_."

"We can't afford mercy either," Marcus said gently. He reached forward to wipe a tear from her cheek, but she turned away from him and walked out.

Cece kept on walking, not thinking about where she was going, until she came to an observation deck, a wide corridor with huge windows taking up most of one wall that was used for viewing events such as comets and moon raises. It was deserted at this time, and right now it offered a view of the Earth. Her baby girl was down there; Abby was in a cell waiting to be executed. And there was nothing she could do for either of them. Remembering the remorseless look in Marcus' eyes, Cece let her tears fall silently wondering when the man she loved had become this, and how Emily had seen it when she hadn't.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The song lyrics featured in this chapter are from_ For The Love Of A Daughter_ by Demi Lovato


	10. We've Got Trouble

Chapter 10 - We've Got Trouble

Dax was a tall, slimly built 17-year-old, who had been confined for beating a man to death for stealing from him. He was also one of the guys who had removed his wristband early in the day. Dax found a place near the edge of camp to sleep for the night, under a tree that gave some shelter from the cold wind that had picked up, and settled down with one of the blankets from the drop ship that he'd wrestled from some other kid, practically knocking the kid's tooth out.

Dax looked up when he heard someone coming, thinking it might be one of the people he'd roughed up come looking for payback, but it was only that little girl with the blond ponytail. Earlier in the day Dax had seen some guys giving her a hard time, trying to make her take off her wristband. She had shouted at them to stop and leave her alone, but they ignored her. Dax had walked up and punched one of them in the face. That guy went down with a bloody nose and the others backed off.

The little girl had been following him around since then, and now she came and lay down beside him, clutching her stuffed toy that looked like it was supposed to be a turtle. Dax considered pushing her away, telling her to go bug someone else.

"Thanks for helping me," her small voice said. It was the first thing she'd said to him all day.

"Whatever kid," said Dax, laying his head back again.

"My name's Bo," she said.

"Just go to sleep," Dax grumbled. Bo didn't say anything else. A little while later Dax looked down at her and saw that she was shivering. The kid looked too small and frail to stand up to the cold wind that was blowing. He sighed, and spread the blanket over her; she curled closer to him.

Just behind the tree line at the edge of camp, Thalia smiled. She had been walking the perimeter of camp making sure that everything was alright when she saw them. Bo Adams, 10 years old, was the youngest one here, and lying next to Dax Stanton she looked like a kitten curled up next to a pit-bull. Thalia kept walking and came to the spot that she'd started from. It looked like everyone was settled down to sleep for the night. The bonfire was out, and the smaller fires around camp were down to embers that gave a bit of warmth to those closest to them and provided just enough light to see by. Thalia was just about to find her own place to rest for the night when she saw Danny coming towards her around the edge of camp. He had a serious look on his face and for Danny, who was rarely serious about anything, that was saying something.

_This can't be good_, Thalia thought as he approached. "Is there any chance that you're just out for a late night walk?" she asked.

"We've got trouble," said Danny.

XX

Wells was resting against a large tree root that protruded out of the ground, while Glass was asleep under a small alcove where a bush growing over the tree roots gave her more shelter from the cold. Wells couldn't sleep; he was too busy going over the day's events in his head. If Bellamy got his way, the people on the Ark would never come down, which meant that they would all be in danger. Even if the engineers can fix the life support system, they didn't have enough time to do so, which meant that people would be dying. Add to that all his worries about surviving on the ground, Clarke hating him, what Bellamy and his thugs would do, Clarke wishing he wasn't here, trying to keep his friends safe while everyone thought being down here was a game with no rules, Clarke…

Wells hadn't realized that he was drifting off until a hand over his mouth jolted him awake. He opened his eyes to see Bellamy leaning over him. Wells was about to push him off, but then he saw the gun. Wells glanced to his left and saw that Glass was hidden from sight in her little alcove. She was safe.

Glass was sleeping fitfully. There was no constant machine hum down here, but there were other sounds, some of which she couldn't identify. It seemed something woke her up every five minutes. Glass pulled the blanket Wells had given her closer around her, when a noise just next to her brought her fully awake. She pushed back a branch that was in her way and saw Wells walking out of camp. She was about to call out to him, to ask where he was going, when she saw that Bellamy was with him. And he had a gun!

Glass knew that the people here didn't like Wells because of his father, but she hadn't really thought that they would try to execute him! She had to do something, but what could she do on her own? She needed help, but Emily and Clarke were gone. There was only one other person she could think of to ask for help who might listen – and she felt a chill down her spine just thinking about it.

Glass found Thalia with a small group of people, arguing with a big angry looking girl with dark brown hair. Glass recognized two of the boys, Conner and Jason – they had both been in the drop ship with Thalia earlier – and the dark haired Asian girl who stood at Thalia's side like a soldier, Kayla. When Glass came up to them Thalia and the angry girl were nodding like they had come to an agreement.

Glass didn't waste any time, "I need your help. Wells, he..."

"I already know," Thalia interrupted. She reached under her jacket and pulled out a gun of her own. Glass was stunned; how many people down here had guns?! "Come on, let's go save your boyfriend." Thalia led her group off in the same direction that Bellamy had taken Wells.

Glass, following behind them, said under her breath, "He's not my boyfriend."

XX

Wells walked ahead of Bellamy, still limping slightly from his sprained ankle. They'd reached the gully that he and Glass had found earlier. It was far enough from camp that no one would hear any sound of a fight; though they would probably still hear a gunshot.

Bellamy wasn't concerned though. "That's far enough," he said. Wells turned to face him. "Relax Wells; I don't want to shoot you. Hell, I like you. But I do need them to think that you're dead," Bellamy, pointing up to the sky – to the Ark.

"Why?" Wells asked. "For real this time, not some crap about getting to do what you want to do."

"I have my reasons," Bellamy shrugged. "I also have the gun, which means I ask the questions. Why aren't you helping me? Your father banished you, dumped you down here like garbage, yet you're still doing his bidding. Aren't you tired of always doing what's expected of you? Stand up to him. Take off that wristband and you will be amazed at how good it feels."

Bellamy might have thought that he was being persuasive, but Wells just thought that everything out of his mouth was a line of crap. "No, never, not gonna happen; is that clear enough for you?"

"Yeah, it is," Bellamy said cocking his gun. "Sorry it had to be like this."

Wells braced himself, but Bellamy just put the gun back under his jacket and nodded at someone to his left. Wells looked over and saw Murphy coming up, and to the other side he saw Mbege. Bellamy had led him into an ambush! Three against one while he was injured were not good odds; Wells turned and tried to run, but his ankle slowed him down and three more guys intercepted him. Wells nailed one of them with a fist to the jaw; one guy tried to grab him from behind, but Wells head-butted him and he let go, but then the third boy and Murphy and Mbege were on him. They wrestled him to the ground. "Hold him down. Get his arm!" Mbege got a piece of metal under Well's wristband to pry it off.

"Get off of me!" Wells shouted. "Don't do this!"

Bellamy watched it all happening, satisfied. If the Ark thought that their prince was dead they would never come down, and he'd be safe. Mbege was working on the wristband, and the others were keeping Wells pinned when Murphy stood up and kicked at Wells. Bellamy wanted his wristband off, but he didn't actually want Wells dead. He was about to call Murphy off when a shape moving fast tackled Murphy to the ground. The moon provided enough light for Bellamy to see Murphy wrestling with another boy, and more people coming up and pulling his guys off of Wells. Bellamy started moving towards them, his hand going to his gun, when someone stepped in front of him.

"Go ahead and reach for it. I'll put a bullet in you before you have your finger on the trigger," the girl said.

Bellamy focused on her, her dark cloths making her difficult to see in the dim light. He could make out that she was maybe two inches shorter than him, with short dark hair and was built like a runner. And he could clearly see her eyes - electric blue that looked even brighter in the moonlight. He could also see the gun she had pointed at his chest.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked. She didn't answer.

The scuffle behind them didn't last long. When one of Bellamy's guys, Miller, landed on the ground next to them Thalia smiled. She figured Rileigh Byrne was the one who'd tossed him. When Bellamy's guys retreated to stand behind him Thalia lowered her gun and stepped back to stand in front of her people. Miller got to his feet, more bruised than he was before. The others were Mbege and Atom; Conner had Murphy pinned to the ground and Clarisse was holding Drew in a chokehold so tight that he might pass out soon if she didn't let him get some air. Thalia looked over Bellamy's shoulder and saw Danny; the others were too focused on Thalia to notice him just now coming up.

Glass and Kayla Shumway helped Wells to his feet. He looked at Glass questioningly. "I saw him take you and I went for help," she explained.

"Are you ok?" Kayla asked; she and Wells knew each other from officer training.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

The other guys that Thalia had brought with her, Alby and Gabe, looked ready to go another round and so did Atom and Mbege. She held up her hand signaling them to stay back and Bellamy put a hand on Mbege's shoulder to stop him. Jason came to Thalia's side and hander her something. Thalia sighed; they'd gotten there in time to save Wells, but not his wristband.

_._

_So you feel entitled to a sense of control and make decisions that you think are your own_

_You are a stranger here. Why have you come? Why have you come?_

_._

"Six against one, not very sporting of you," Thalia said to Bellamy. "So you're the guy who's gonna try to take over down here."

"I'm already taking over down here," Bellamy replied.

Thalia smirked. "Yes, I can see that you already have your collection of thugs. That was fast work. And you can see that I have friends." Bellamy looked at the people behind Thalia. They looked ready to go for round two at any sign, but so where his guys. "Relax Bellamy. I'm not interested in taking over. If you want to be in charge you go right ahead, _be_ in charge. I really don't care." Thalia's expression suddenly turned cold and fierce. "Just don't try to pick a fight with _me_." The threat in her voice was very clear; Bellamy noted that she had lowered her gun, but she hadn't put it away. And looking in her eyes he could see, there was something dangerous about this girl.

But he couldn't afford to back down, not if he wanted the others to follow him. "What makes you think you can give orders here?"

"Not orders, just a warning," said Thalia. "You're a stranger who showed up out of nowhere today; I've been living with these people for nine years. Do you really want to get them started on choosing sides? Fighting amongst ourselves, now that would be a good way to get people killed."

"If you didn't want to start a fight then you should have stayed out of it."

Thalia shrugged, "Not really my style."

"How'd you get a gun anyway?" asked Bellamy.

"I can ask you the same thing." Thalia considered for a moment. "I took mine off a guard when they were putting us in the drop ship – idiot didn't even notice. How'd you get yours?" Thalia stepped forward and spoke quietly so that only Bellamy heard her. "How did you get a gun Bellamy? And why are you so afraid of the Ark coming down?" Thalia asked, putting the pieces together. She could tell from the way his eyes shifted away that she was right, Bellamy was afraid of something. "What did you do?"

_._

_Who, who are you really? And where are you going?_

_._

"You don't know what you're talking about," Bellamy said speaking quietly, just to Thalia. He didn't like that she'd made that connection so easily. Bellamy didn't want anyone else questioning why he wanted to stop the people on the Ark from coming down.

"And you don't want questions asked," Thalia deduced. "Fine, then as long as you don't start none, there won't be none." Thalia stepped back and spoke normally again. "So how about you take yours, we take ours, and we can all go back to doing what we've been doing." She tossed the wristband at his feet. "'Whatever the hell we want' right?"

Clarisse let go of Drew, who coughed, gasping for breath, and scrambled over to Bellamy's side. Conner let go of Murphy, and Alby and Gabe pulled him up by his arms and pushed him towards his own group. Murphy found his footing and lunged forward to attack again. "Murphy," Bellamy stopped him, "We got what we wanted."

Thalia glanced at Danny and saw him nod almost imperceptivity.

"I'll see you around Bellamy," Thalia smiled and turned away, walking with her group back towards camp. Bellamy may have gotten what he wanted, but Thalia had also made her point.

_._

_Well I've got nothing left to prove 'cause I've got nothing left to lose._

_See me bare my teeth for you. Who, who are you?_

_._

"Who the hell is she?" Bellamy asked, watching her walk away.

"That is Thalia Grace," said Danny.

Bellamy turned to him. "Do you know her?"

"Sure," Danny shrugged, "Everyone knows her."

"What's her story?"

XX

Thalia's group continued on their way back to camp. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Kayla asked Rileigh.

"I've studied judo since I was nine. Glad it finally came in handy," Rileigh answered, "You?"

"My dad had me in officer training since I could walk," said Kayla.

"I guess you weren't exactly daddy's good little soldier-girl if you ended up here," Rileigh commented.

"Nothing was ever good enough for my dad, The Commander," said Kayla. She didn't sound upset, she simply said it as a fact – though she didn't seem to think much of her father's title. "Anyway I could saw the same about you."

When camp came into view, Jason said what was on his mind. "You made Bellamy look like a fool back there."

"He doesn't need any help looking like a fool," Thalia replied, slightly disappointed; she'd expected more.

"He's going to retaliate," Jason said, concerned.

Thalia didn't share his concern, "He can try."

"Thalia..."

"Don't worry about me Jason," Thalia interrupted. "When Bellamy makes a move I'll know about it." She suddenly felt very tired. "For now we should all just try to get some sleep. It's been a hell of a long day."

They'd reached camp by now and started going their separate ways for the night. Kayla said bye to Wells, and she and Rileigh went back to their space; Alby and Gabe walked off in the same direction, watching the girls. Clarisse left without a word; she may have agreed to help this time, but she wasn't exactly sociable. Thalia considered her a work in progress.

"Thanks for your help back there," Wells said.

"Don't," said Thalia. "That wasn't so much about saving you as it was about making a point to Bellamy. Every word out of that guy's mouth is total crap."

"You noticed that, huh?"

"He was right about one thing though Wells. Your father enforced the laws, and that makes enemies. Like it or not, his enemies are your enemies. My advice, if you want to survive down here, is to be ready to fight for it." Thalia started to turn away but then turned back. "And try to make some new friends. Like Kayla, she seems to like you." Thalia walked off towards the drop ship with Jason.

"She still creeps me out," Glass said to Wells. "But she's not wrong."

Wells didn't feel like arguing on it, especially since they were probably both right. "Come on, let's get some sleep," he said heading back to their spot.

Glass started to follow him but was startled by a rustling in the trees and looked up. Was there something moving up there? It was hard to see, but it almost looked like…

"Hey, are you alright?" Wells asked.

"I thought I just saw…" No that was impossible. She was tired and probably just jumping at shadows again. "Never mind," she said shaking her head.

"Come on, it's late."

* * *

The song lyrics featured in this chapter are from _Who Are You Really?_ by Mikky Ekko


	11. Did They Make It?

Chapter 11 - Did They Make It?

Abby was staring up through the skylight of the cell at what she could see of Earth when the door swung open. "Dr. Griffin, it's time," the guard said solemnly. Abby was escorted to her execution by two guards with her hand cuffed behind her.

Arriving at the airlock chamber she saw that Jackson and Cece were there waiting for her. Family and close friends were permitted to say goodbye before an execution. Cece stepped forward and embraced her friend with tears in her eyes.

"That's enough," said Kane, standing beside the airlock control panel with Commander Shumway.

"Watch over Clarke for me," Abby said as a guard forcibly pulled Cece away from her. Cece nodded, unable to speak. Jackson took her hand, tears in his eyes as well.

Abby's handcuffs were removed and the two guards took Abby's arms to lead her into the chamber, but she shook them off. She would not be dragged in kicking and screaming. As the airlock's inner door was opened Abby hesitated for only a moment before stepping in and turning to face the people in the corridor. Marcus looked at Cece, and she looked at him with pleading in her tear filled eyes. Doing this would forever condemn him in her mind. He pulled his eyes away from her and nodded to Commander Shumway. Shumway pushed the button on the control panel to seal the inner door.

"Jackson, use the wristbands," Abby called out hurriedly as the doors started to close. "There may be a way to reverse engineer them for communication. Talk to Sinclair in engineering. _Nod if you understand_!"

Jackson nodded so that she could see that he understood as the door sealed her off from them completely. They could see each other through the glass, but no sound went through. The guards still held him and Cece back from interfering. Kane looked at Abby inside the airlock, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded to Shumway again.

Shumway had his finger on the button that would open the outer door and send Abby Griffin shooting out into space, when an authoritative voice rang out.

"STOP!"

Everyone looked to the other end of the corridor where Chancellor Thelonious Jaha was coming up in hospital scrubs, with a harassed looking physician close behind him. He was clutching at the wound in his abdomen and breathing hard from the effort of rushing over from the med bay. Even with the grimace of pain on his face and in his voice, there was no mistaking the authority he spoke with, "Dr. Griffin is pardoned."

Abby staggered with relief; she hadn't allowed herself to feel her own fear until that moment. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she could see well enough what was happening. The Chancellor put a hand on his physicians shoulder for support for a moment and then stepped forward, speaking to Kane and Shumway.

"I'll deal with you later," Jaha said to Kane. Turning to Shumway he said, "Open the door". Shumway looked to Kane. "Open The Door," Chancellor Jaha ordered again, emphasizing each word and giving Shumway no room to argue; Shumway complied.

The door was opened and Abby walked out to stand in front of the Chancellor. Jaha nodded to her. "I spent twelve hours putting those intestines back together," Abby commented, and then said to his physician, "Get him back to bed, now," always the doctor.

Abby walked down the corridor and out of sight with Cece and Jackson following after her. Kane watched them go; Cece did not look back.

"Tell me about The 100," Chancellor Jaha said, claiming Kane's attention. "Did they make it?"


	12. We're Not Alone!

Chapter 12 - We're Not Alone!

.

_Under a pale blue sky, you never felt so cold_

_Another sleepless night; how could you ever let go?_

.

A new day, with crispness to the air and the early morning light, brought new optimism. Back at the river, this time with a plan, Finn and Jasper stood at the highest ledge they could find on their side of the riverbank testing the strength of the vine they had found to use to swing across.

"You wanted to go first Finn," Clarke said from where she and the others were watching from below. "Now quit stalling."

"Mount Weather awaits," said Annabeth.

Finn pulled back on the vine again making sure it would hold his weight. He was pretty sure it would but he still felt some trepidation. "Just hold on until the apogee and you'll be fine," Jasper reassured him.

"Apogee?" asked Finn. "Like the Indians, right?"

"Apogee, not apache," Jasper corrected him.

"He knows," said Clarke. "Today, Finn."

"Come on," Emily said impatiently. "Let's get this done."

"Aye, aye Captain," Finn saluted them. "See you on the other side."

"He couldn't have picked a better choice of words," Emily said to Clarke.

Jasper saw Octavia watching Finn with anticipation. "Wait," he said as Finn was about to push off from the ledge.

"What?" Finn asked.

"Let me," said Jasper, a little jittery. "I can do it."

"Knew there was a bad ass in there somewhere," Finn said, handing him the vine.

. Jasper made sure that he had a good grip, blow out a shaky breath, shifted his feet and looked out across the river. Then he took another breath. "Hey, it's ok to be scared Jasper," said Finn. "The trick is not fighting it."

Jasper nodded and looked down again; Octavia was smiling at him now. Jasper steeled himself.

"See you on the other side," he said, making the others laugh. He adjusted his grip, pulled back on the vine, and pushed off from the ledge. He heard the others cheer as he swung out across the river, and it felt like the wind pulled a cheer from his lungs too.

_._

_Headed for the open door; Tell me what you're waiting for. Look across the great divide_

_Soon they're gonna hear the sound, the sound, the sound When we come running_

_._

"Woohoo!" When the vine reached the highest point in its forward swing (the apogee) Jasper let go. "Yeah!" he shouted, then, "Oh shi…" just before he hit the ground on the other side.

Finn jumped down from their ledge to where the others were standing and rushed forward to catch the vine as it swung back towards them. On the other side of the river Jasper was getting to his feet and brushing himself off, checking for injuries. He might have a few bruises, but nothing was broken. And that was amazing!

"We Are Apogee!" he shouted. The others all cheered him on from their side of the river.

"Yes!" shouted Monty.

"Whoo!" cheered Octavia.

"You did it Jasper!" Clarke congratulated him.

"Let's go Princess. You're up," Finn said to Clarke, passing the vine to her. Clarke smiled, looking nervous.

"Go for it Clarke," Emily encouraged her.

"Come on, Clarke," Jasper called from across the river. "You got this! Woo!"

Jasper was jumping up and down in his excitement, his heart still racing from his own swing across the river. His foot brushed over something that wasn't rock or dirt. Bending down for a closer look, Jasper pulled out a rusted sheet of metal half buried in the dirt. He brushed it off and read the words that he could make out on it. Smiling, he held it up for the others to see.

"We did it! It's Mount Weather! Woo!"

"Go Jasper!" Monty cheered.

"We made it," said Annabeth

"I'll start cheering after we find breakfast," said Emily – she was smiling too.

The others kept cheering as Clarke got ready to swing over next. She looked at Jasper waiting for her on the other side, cheering her on, and was about to push off from the edge, when something hit Jasper square in the chest, knocking him back and pinning him to a tree.

There was a moment of stunned, absolute silence when all they heard was the sheet of metal hitting the ground.

"Was that, a _spear_?" Emily asked. And then they were all shouting.

"J-J-Jasper," Clarke stammered.

"Jasper? Jasper!"

"JASPER" shouted Monty. That was his best friend over there and they couldn't get to him.

"Come on," Finn said to the others, urging them to move. That spear had come from their side of the river! Finn jumped down behind a ledge closer to the river's edge and the others followed. "Get down! Get down!"

"Clarke, move it!" Emily said, grabbing Clarke's arm. Clarke couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Jasper's body until Emily pulled her down behind the ledge.

They had the water at their backs and were scanning the trees for whoever could have thrown that spear. They heard movement in the undergrowth, and birds taking off, but they didn't see a thing. Clarke stated the glaringly obvious, terrifying truth that they were all thinking. "We're not alone!"

**THE 100**

* * *

Author's note: The lyrics in this chapter are from _We Come Running_ by Youngblood Hawks


	13. This Is A Bad Idea

The 100 - Earth Skills

_I was born in space. I've never felt the sun on my face, or breathed real air, or floated in the water. None of us have. For three generations the Ark has kept what's left of the human race alive, but now our home is dying and we are the last hope of mankind. 100 prisoners sent on a desperate mission to the ground. Each of us is here because we broke the law; on the ground, there is no law. All we have to do is survive. We will be tested, by the Earth, by the secrets it hides, and most of all by each other!_

Chapter 13 - This Is A Bad Idea

"Clarke, come on!" Finn said, pulling on Clarke's arm when she stopped to look back. They were all running away from the river, back in the direction they had come from yesterday, the fear of the unknown presence that had very abruptly made itself known by taking one of their own driving them on. The sound of the wind in the trees was no longer soothing, but sinister. The trees stretching as far as they can see, yesterday a source of wonder, now held hidden danger.

"Octavia, keep up with me," Annabeth urged. The wound in Octavia's leg slowed her down, but she pressed on through the pain, with Annabeth staying close to her in case she stumbled.

Monty's mind was frozen in a panic - he was moving automatically to keep up with the others. They'd left Jasper back there on the other side of the river. His best friend was dead! The image of Jasper getting hit with that spear kept replaying in his head over and over, which is probably why he didn't see the root that he tripped over. Monty landed sprawling on the ground, and stared in horror at what he'd almost fallen on.

"Come on, we gotta go," said Finn.

"Monty, get up," said Emily.

They each took one of his arms and pulled him to his feet, then they saw what he was staring at. A skeleton was lying on the ground in front of them, the meat picked clean from the bones, with a knife through the rib cage. Annabeth stepped forward and pulled out the knife. The handle was ornately decorated and the blade was ten inches long, and though it had probably been there for some time it was still wicked sharp, deadly.

"We are so totally screwed," Octavia said shakily, looking at the knife.

"Who are they?!" asked Monty.

Clarke bent down examining the bones. There was something wrong about them. She picked up the skull and turning it over in her hands saw that it was deformed, misshaped. "_What_ are they?" she asked. Suddenly a scream tore through the air, coming from the river that they'd been running from. Clarke dropped the skull. "Jasper, he's still alive!" she said and took off running back towards the river.

"Clarke, wait!" Emily exclaimed running after her; the others followed. Coming up to the tree line, Emily grabbed Clarke's arm and yanked her back before she could step out into the open. "Are you insane?! Stay in the trees."

From the cover of the trees they looked out across the river to where they had last seen Jasper. The spot was empty now.

"He was right there," said Monty frantically. "Where is he?"

"They took him," said Clarke.

"We need to get help," said Annabeth. "Let's go."

"We can't just…" Monty started to protest.

"We can't stay here!" said Emily forcefully. She took Clarke's arm and started pulling her away. "Clarke, come on. We need to go. Now!"

XXXXX

"You know, Einstein said that two things were infinite: the universe, and human stupidity," said Tandoori. "And he wasn't sure about the universe."

Thalia nodded in agreement. She, Tandoori, Kayla Shumway and a few others had just gotten back to camp after collecting the berries from a grove that Kayla had found while patrolling the perimeter just after dawn. Tandoori identified them as juniper berries and said that they were good to eat and natural energizers. If nothing went wrong with the scouting party then Annabeth, Clarke and the others should be back soon with supplies from Mount Weather, but in the meantime the berries were a welcome treat. Thalia popped another berry into her mouth and watched the drama unfolding beneath them.

Wells was facing off with Murphy, again, with a crowd of people standing around watching and cheering. Thalia didn't see what had started it this time – not that Murphy ever needed much of a reason to start a fight – but the cause hardly mattered, only the outcome. Wells got Murphy pinned and punched him twice in the face. Murphy was dazed, and Wells stood up to face Bellamy who was standing idly by like it was all just a show.

"Is this what you want, chaos?" Wells demanded.

"What's wrong with a little chaos?" Bellamy said unconcerned.

"Don't you see you can't control this?" Wells asked, gesturing to the crowd still calling for a fight.

Wells still thought that he could reason with Bellamy, make him see sense. Thalia shook her head; Bellamy did see what was happening, he just didn't care. And Wells didn't get that the rules from back home wouldn't work here, not with these people. But then, Bellamy's philosophy of 'whatever the hell we want' wouldn't work either – It would most likely get people hurt or worse.

Behind Wells, Murphy got back to his feet pulling out his knife made out of metal from the drop ship. Wells turned to face him. "You're dead," Murphy threatened.

"Wait," said Bellamy. He pulled out another makeshift knife and tossed it at Wells' feet. "Fair fight," he said and stepped back out of the way.

Wells looked from Murphy to the knife at his feet and picked it up. Murphy wouldn't hesitate to use his and Wells needed to defend himself. Murphy came at him with his knife and Wells dodged out of the way. Murphy slashed and missed again. Wells stabbed at Murphy, but Murphy ducked under his arm and struck out with his knife catching Wells on his arm. Wells cried out from the pain in his arm. Murphy, emboldened from drawing first blood shouted, "This is for my father!" and attacked again.

"Alright, that's enough," Kayla said, about to go forward to help Wells.

"Wait," Thalia stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Let it play out."

"What are you doing?" Glass asked coming up to them. "Help him!"

"If Wells wants these people to stop giving him a hard time he has to show them that he can and will fight back," Thalia explained patiently.

"She's right Glass," Kayla admitted.

"Besides," Thalia added to both of them, "your boy can handle himself."

Thalia was right; in less than thirty seconds Wells had Murphy in a headlock with a knife to his throat. "Drop it!" he said.

"Wells!" Everyone turned at Clarke's shout to see her and the rest of the scouting party coming over the rise. "Let him go!"

Wells pushed Murphy away from him onto the ground. Murphy got to his feet and rushed forward to attack Wells again, but Bellamy blocked his way, "Murphy, enough!" Bellamy saw Octavia leaning on Annabeth for support as she limped down the incline. The wound on her leg was throbbing from running most of the way back to camp. "Octavia, are you alright?" Bellamy asked rushing over and helping her down the rest of the way. Octavia nodded even as she grimaced in pain.

"Where's the food?" Bellamy asked the scouting party.

"We didn't make it to Mt. Weather," said Finn, sitting down heavily on a rock.

"What happened out there?" Thalia asked coming down to join them.

"We were attacked," Annabeth reported.

"Attacked?" asked Wells, "By what?"

"Not what," said Finn, "Who."

"Turns out when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last grounder," Emily explained, casually leaning against a tree.

Thalia looked Annabeth up and down; Annabeth nodded that she was alright.

"Are you ok?" Glass asked Clarke.

"Yes," Clarke replied. "But everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people down here, survivors." The gathered crowd started talking amongst themselves, curious, anxious, and fearful. "The good news is that mean we can survive," she tried to reassure them. "Radiation won't kill us."

"Yeah, bad news is the grounders probably will," Emily said, running her fingers through her hair that had come loose from its braid.

Wells looked at the group that had come back from Mount Weather. Seven people had left camp yesterday, now they were one short. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"

"Jasper was hit. They took him," answered Clarke, drawing more frightened exclamations from the crowd.

"Hey, where's your wristband?" Emily exclaimed going up to Wells, grabbing his arm.

"Ask him," Wells said, nodding to Bellamy.

Clarke turned on Bellamy. "How many?" she asked angrily.

"Twenty-four and counting," Murphy answered cockily.

"You _idiots_," Emily said with derision.

"Life support on the Ark is failing!" Clarke said raising her voice to the crowd. "That's why they sent us down here. They need to know that the ground is survivable and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands you're not just killing them, you're killing us!"

The people in the crowd were talking amongst themselves, some of them considering the threat of the grounders and what Clarke said was happening on the Ark. Bellamy looked around and realized that he was losing them. Thalia watched Bellamy, waiting to see what he would do.

"We're stronger than you think," Bellamy said to Clarke, then he turned to the crowd and said, "Don't listen to her; she's one of the privileged. If they come down she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same?" Some people started to nod in agreement with what Bellamy was saying. "We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes; I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors. The grounders should worry about us!"

The crowd cheered him on, their voices rising to a ruckus. Thalia rolled her eyes; of course he would appeal to their selfishness with false bravado, and the people running out of air on the Ark meant nothing to him.

"'The fool doth think he is wise'," said Tandoori coming to Thalia's side. "He is going to get people killed isn't he?"

Thalia nodded, but amidst the cheering crowd Thalia saw those who looked doubtful, afraid; even some of those who had already taken off their wristbands looked to be having second thoughts. Thalia was already thinking ahead; their fear and doubt was something she could use. But first there were other things to take care of.

"Careful Bellamy," Emily said pushing past him. "Earth is still in recovery mode. We don't know how much bullshit it can handle." She and Clarke were marching away from the crowd with Monty by their side, towards the drop ship. Thalia caught up to them with Annabeth and Tandoori right behind her.

"What are you doing now?" Thalia asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Now we're going after Jasper," Clarke stated.

"Of course we are."

XXXXX

Thalia was in the third level of the drop ship listening to Annabeth recount what had happened to the scouting party. Having gotten the highlights from Clarke, Thalia asked Annabeth about the real reason why she had gone on the trip to Mount Weather.

"What did you learn from Octavia?"

"For one thing, she likes to talk a lot," said Annabeth. Considering that the only people Octavia had been able to talk to for the first sixteen years of her life were her mother and brother, that wasn't surprising.

"So do you," Thalia pointed out. "Did you talk about anything relevant?"

"You mean did we talk about Bellamy?" said Annabeth innocently. "He loves his little sister more than anything."

"This I know. Anything else?"

"Alright," Annabeth said, getting to the point. "Bellamy is 23, he's from Factory Station, like us; he tested well in school, and he trained as a guard for four years under Commander Shumway, who was a lieutenant back then."

"Shumway," Thalia asked, "You mean Kayla's father?"

"That's the one," said Annabeth. "Bellamy never made guardsman though. He was booted out of guardsman training when…"

"When Octavia was arrested," Thalia finished.

"Yeah"

"So he actually would know how to use that gun," Thalia noted.

"He has a gun?" Annabeth asked, surprised.

"Long story," said Tandoori.

Thalia nodded. "So far what I've learned about Bellamy is that he's a selfish idiot." Whatever Bellamy was afraid of from the Ark coming down, he was willing to put them all in danger, leaving them stranded here alone, to stop it from happening. "And a coward," she added.

"Do you want to elaborate on that?" Annabeth asked, wondering what had happened while they were gone. "Bellamy seems to have a following around here. How did that happen?"

"Long story," Tandoori said again.

"I'll tell you everything later," said Thalia. "Right now we need to focus on a more immediate problem: finding food."

Thalia and Annabeth moved over to where Kayla, Jason and Conner were pulling out crates that were packed behind the camping supplies and passing them down the ladder. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jason asked Thalia.

"No. But it's going to happen sooner or later. And it's probably better if it's sooner." Thalia replied, turning the grounder knife that Annabeth had given to her over in her hand. "Make sure that the people we trust get the first choice."

"Got it," said Conner.

When they moved down to the second level Thalia told the others to go ahead and bring the crates the rest of the way down while she and Annabeth stayed to see what was happening. Antonia and Violet were at work doing something clever with a computer and the wristband that they wanted to use as a transmitter.

"Still working on it," Antonia said before Thalia could ask. "Carter and Holly are taking a break – they were working on rebuilding the internal computer components most of the night. Ember's on the roof running some of the wiring through the solar panels so we can have power. And I'm not exactly sure what Annalee's gotten up to…"

"You really think you can get this to work?" Annabeth asked.

"These wristbands aren't exactly what we're used to working with," said Violet. "Basically, we're going by trial and error here - Story of my life."

"Thomas Edison did try and failed over two hundred times to create the common light bulb," said Tandoori. "When asked about it he said he didn't fail, he found two-hundred ways how not to make a light bulb. But he only needed one way to make it work."

"We'll get it to work," Antonia said forcefully. She wasn't the type to accept failure, especially not with what was at stake.

Leaving them to it, Thalia went to the other side of the room where Clarke was busy trying to convince Monty to stay behind and help the others who were trying to repair the communications system.

"No way," Monty was saying. "Jasper's my best friend!"

"You're too important Monty," said Clarke. "You were raised on Farm Station and recruited to engineering. That means food and communication. What you know is gonna help save us all."

"Speaking of food," said Thalia, "Annabeth is going to lead some people out to try hunting."

"If we can't get to Mount Weather then we have to find a way to feed ourselves," said Annabeth. "I figure we can head back to where we saw that deer, try to pick up its trail."

"Maybe you shouldn't be going out there," said Glass hesitantly, uncomfortable speaking in this group.

"Yeah, it might be a long shot," Emily added skeptically.

"Maybe, but it's the only sign of food we've seen since we got here. And a long shot is better than no shot," Annabeth countered, "Unless you have a better idea."

"Alright," said Emily with the hint of a smile. "I'll go with you."

When Clarke looked like she would argue with that Thalia cut her off. "Let them go Clarke, they're both right. Everyone's hungry; they are going to start getting desperate and desperate people do stupid things."

"With these people that's really saying something," Emily added.

"Don't be mean, Em," Glass said softly.

"Yesterday you called them a pack of wolves," Emily reminded her. "From what I've seen, they're more like rabid dogs."

"Whatever," said Glass. "I still don't like you going out there, especially if you're splitting up."

"We've all got jobs to do," said Emily putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Isn't that what your mom use to say when your dad blew you off because he was working?" asked Glass crinkling her brow. Emily's temper flared up; her eyes got darker and her hand on Glass' shoulder got tighter. Glass winced. "Ok, sorry, never mind."

Emily pushed her temper back. She turned back to Clarke. "Monty stays and helps with repairs; Annabeth and I will go hunting." Looking behind Clarke, Emily smiled at who was coming up the ladder. "And you _and_ Wells will bring Jasper back."

Clarke looked around at Wells. "Nice pack," she said.

Wells was carrying one of the supply packs and was ready to leave. "I packed part of the parachute. We can use it to carry Jasper back, if we find him."

"_When_ we find him!" said Clarke. "And give it to someone else. You're not coming." Clarke headed down the hatch to the first level and the others followed.

"My ankle's fine," said Wells.

"It's not your ankle Wells, it's _you_," said Clarke.

"You came back for reinforcements. I'm gonna help," said Wells, as ever persevering in the face of hostility.

In the first level, Finn was waiting by the door of the drop ship. "Are you ready?" Clarke asked him.

"I'm not going," said Finn, "and neither should any of you. That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from over 300 feet."

"So what, we just let Jasper die?!" said Monty.

"That is not going to happen," Clarke reassured him. To Finn she said, "'Spacewalker'? What a joke. You think you're such an adventurer when you're really just a coward."

"It's not an adventure, Clarke. It's a suicide mission."

Leaving them to sort it out, Thalia walked outside passed them with Annabeth and Tandoori. Kayla, Jason and a few of their friends had the crates from the drop ship stacked next to the ramp.

"Are you sure about this?" Annabeth asked Thalia one more time.

"For the record, I sincerely think that this is not one of your better ideas," said Tandoori.

"Duly noted," said Thalia. She nodded to Annabeth who whistled loudly, drawing the attention of the people nearby who came over to see what was happening. Shouts erupted as the crates were opened, people saw what was inside and started pushing forward to get to them first, drawing more attention.

Bellamy was sitting next to Octavia on a fallen log. She had the leg of her pants rolled up for him to clean the bite wound on her leg; she winced as he gently rubbed a damp cloth over it. "What the hell was it?" Bellamy asked.

"I don't know. The others said it looked like a giant snake," said Octavia.

"You could have been killed," he said looking up at her face. He still saw the little girl that he'd always taken care of. Bellamy's blood ran cold thinking that something could have happened to his baby sister.

"I would have been," she said, "if Jasper didn't jump in to pull me out."

Before Bellamy could respond he noticed the crowd gathering next to the drop ship. "Wait here," he said to Octavia. Going up to the crowd Bellamy saw what was causing such a commotion. The crates from the drop ship were open to reveal weapons. Various kinds of weapons and tools: knives, swords, axes, a few bows and quivers of arrows, and even a few spears. Bellamy saw Thalia, and from her position at the top of the ramp it was clear to everyone that she was the one giving out weapons.

Thalia watched from the ramp as the weapons were snatched up and people fought over who got what. Her people had taken out their choice of the weapons before they brought the crates out of the drop ship; both Kayla Shumway and her friend Rileigh Byrne each had a pair of twin swords to show for it, and Annabeth had a knife and a bow and arrows that she was going to use for hunting.

Wells, Clarke and Emily came out of the drop ship and stared. "You're giving them weapons?" Wells asked disbelievingly, his tone clearly implying that he thought the idea was crazy. Seeing two boys grappling over an ax until one let go due to a fist in his gut, Thalia understood his concern. When she'd found the weapons last night Thalia thought it would be best to keep them under wraps for now, but learning about the grounders and that they could pose a threat she reconsidered.

"Eventually these people are going to realize that living down her is not a fairy tale, and they will need those weapons," Thalia explained her reasoning. "It's better if they get them now and have time to get used to it and calm down before real trouble comes."

"She does have a point," Emily said, and then she jumped down off the ramp and pushed some guy out of her way to grab a set of knives.

"'In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity'," Tandoori said to Thalia watching the chaos beneath them. "A philosophy that you seem to live by!" she added critically.

Thalia shrugged; Tandoori was probably right. Another reason why she'd reconsidered the weapons: Bellamy. He may be an idiot, but he knew how to use words to sway a crowd. Thalia preferred subtler means than being front and center. She wasn't much one for speeches but she was good at finding what people wanted or needed, and using that to her advantage. These people needed weapons, and most of them wouldn't forget that she'd been the one to give them.

Thalia noticed Bellamy coming over to investigate what was going on, what the crowd was about. "Here, I saved you one," she said to Wells, passing him a cutlass that she'd taken from the pile. Then she went down the ramp to meet Bellamy.

"What do you think you're doing?" Bellamy asked suspiciously as she came up to him.

"Like you said, we have to be ready to take care of ourselves," Thalia smiled indulgently.

"So you're just handing these over," Bellamy said skeptically. After last night he was sure she had her own agenda.

"I already told you that I'm not interested in starting a fight with you Bellamy," Thalia explained patiently like she was talking to a child. "People see my friends with weapons, there'd be arguments over where they got them and who gets to have them. And I don't want that. My friends have already taken their pick. So you, have at it."

Clarke came up to them with her pack slung over one shoulder. "Ready to go?" Thalia asked, with her eyes still on Bellamy.

"Are you leaving?" Octavia asked, limping up to them. "I'm coming too."

"Oh no; No way," said Bellamy before she was even done speaking. "You're not going out there again!"

"He's right," Clarke said before Octavia could object. "Your leg would just slow us down." Turning to Bellamy she said, "I'm here for you; I hear you have a gun." Bellamy glanced around, saw that everyone else was distracted, and pulled up his shirt to show her the gun tucked into the waistline of his pants. "Good, follow us," said Clarke and she turned and started walking out of camp.

"And why would I do that?" Bellamy said condescendingly.

"Because you want _them_ to follow you," said Thalia nodding to a group of people Bellamy didn't notice before who were watching them and whispering. Thalia smirked, "Right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared."

She turned and followed Clarke; Bellamy watched her walk away. Just like last night she had that same annoyingly superior look on her face, like she'd gotten one up on him. After she'd walked away last night Bellamy had asked Danny and the other boys with him what they knew about her, and had gotten very different stories. All any of them seemed to know for certain was that Thalia had been confined when she was just a kid, and anyone who'd been in the Skybox when she was arrested had already aged out. What people knew about her now – about why she'd been arrested – were mostly just rumors. Some said that she'd been just a poor girl who got caught stealing food; others said that she had murdered people. Whatever her story was, Bellamy hated that Thalia had been able to put him off balance, twice now. And he couldn't afford to let this girl show him up, especially when people were watching.

"Murphy," Bellamy called to a group of his guys who were coming up to check out the weapons. Murphy came forward when Bellamy called him, "You're coming with me." Turning to one of the others, a boy with short cropped black hair and blue eyes he said, "Atom, my sister doesn't leave this camp. Is that clear?"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Octavia said indignantly.

Bellamy ignored her and spoke to Atom. "Anybody touches her, they answer to me, got it?"

Atom didn't look happy about being assigned as Octavia's keeper, but he nodded. As Bellamy and Murphy walked out of camp Octavia moved to follow them, but Atom grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Oh no, you're staying here," he said.

Octavia pulled her arm away from him. "I'm gonna make your life a living hell!" she threatened and walked away to find out what Annabeth was doing. Atom watched her and groaned - He was sure the little brat meant it.

At the door of the drop ship, Finn was talking to Wells trying to convince him to stop Clarke from going out there. Clarke hadn't listened and Wells wasn't either. And seeing Murphy and Bellamy following Clarke and Thalia out of camp, he definitely was not letting them go out alone with those lowlifes.

"Build a wall, use the fallen trees," Wells instructed Finn. "I'll watch out for Clarke."

Finn sighed as Wells walked away too; this had 'Bad Idea' written all over it. Finn turned back into the drop ship and saw Monty looking at him, hurt, angry and disappointed.

"You know, Jasper looked up to you," Monty said. He left Finn standing there and went up to the second level to help with repairs.

"Wells hold on," Glass said catching up to him. "I need to tell you something."

"Can it wait Glass?" Wells said, still walking. "I have to go."

"It's important," said Glass.

Wells was distracted; Thalia and Clarke had just moved out of sight. "Just stay in camp. We'll talk when I get back," he told Glass. Wells jogged off to catch up to them; Glass watched him go, watched him follow Clarke, again.

Catching up to Clarke and Thalia, Wells asked why they were bringing Bellamy and Murphy along with them. "Those guys aren't just bullies, they're dangerous criminals!"

"Yeah, well they're not the only ones," said Thalia.

"I'm counting on it," said Clarke.

Behind them Murphy was also asking why they were going along with this. "Since when are we in the rescuing business?" he asked Bellamy.

"The Ark thinks the prince is dead. Once they think the princess is dead too, they'll never come down," said Bellamy with is eyes on Clarke. "I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off her hand to do it."

Thalia looked back over her shoulder at them like she'd heard what he said - though at this distance she couldn't have – and Bellamy was struck again by the strange colouring of her eyes, electric blue.

"We might have to go through her bodyguards first," said Murphy. Bellamy didn't have a problem with that.


	14. How To Fend For Yourself

Chapter 14 - How To Fend For Yourself

Octavia found Annabeth at a small glade at the edge of camp where fallen trees and underbrush had already been cleared away. Annabeth and a few others who had taken up bows and arrows were using it as a practice area, standing at the end of the clearing with their backs to camp and taking practice shots at the trees at the far end of the clearing, trying to get a feel for the new weapons. Bull's-eyes had been drawn on the row of trees at the front of the tree line and they'd told anyone who didn't want to catch a stray arrow to clear out of the way.

Annabeth glanced at Octavia as she came up, and then went back to watching attentively as Emily demonstrated how to shoot with the bow that Annabeth had taken up. She studied Emily's stance, the way she held the bow, the way her eyes stayed focused on the target. Emily had probably been allowed to train with a bow as well as her sword on the Ark – as Octavia would say, 'the privileges of being one of the privileged'. And it showed; the three shots that she fired all hit the center of the bull's-eye.

"Your turn," Emily said passing the bow back to Annabeth.

Annabeth took aim at one of the targets trying to copy Emily's stance and grip. She released and her arrow went wide, flying past the tree she was aiming for.

"It probably hit _a_ tree," Tandoori said from where she was watching safely behind them.

Emily scrutinized her movements; Annabeth shot with confidence, with only a few slight errors. "Relax your shoulders," Emily instructed her. "Keep your elbow up. Release when you exhale; you want all three fingers to come off the bowstring at the same time."

Annabeth nodded and lined up another shot. This one hit the outer edge of the target; the next hit closer to the center, and her third shot hit the bull's-eye. Annabeth grinned.

"Not bad," Emily said grudgingly. "You catch on fast."

"What did they teach you in that orphanage?" Octavia asked, impressed. When they'd been talking yesterday, Annabeth had told her that both of her parents died when she was very young and that she'd grown up in the Care Center for orphans on the Ark.

"How to fend for myself," said Annabeth, "among other things." It didn't sound like a topic she wanted to discuss.

Emily didn't blame her; from what she'd heard of the Care Centre, growing up there pretty mush sucked. Those who grew up in the orphanage were given just enough to get by and nothing more. Sometimes far less; certainly nothing close to what passed for luxuries on the Ark that Emily had grown up with. And they usually ended up in jobs that were menial labour, the jobs that no one else wanted.

"You gonna grab a bow for hunting?" Annabeth asked.

Emily shook her head, "I prefer blades."

"Like your sword," said Tandoori, pointing at the sword strapped to Emily's back. "It's a katana right? Also referred to as a samurai sword, originally from Japan, designed for slicing attacks; an excellent weapon for close combat." Tandoori had never handled weapons herself, but she had read plenty of books about them. "Not the ideal hunting weapon though."

"That's why I also have these," Emily indicated the set of throwing knives that she'd taken from the weapons crates. She had the sheath for the throwing knives strapped to her right leg, and quick as a flash she drew a knife, spun back towards the target and threw it. The knife struck the bull's-eye dead center – To throw for accuracy at that distance with enough force for the knife to stick…

"Well alright then," said Tandoori.

"Fast hands," Annabeth commented. "Let's hope that we're both fast enough to hit something that moves."

"Do you really think you'll be able to _hunt_," asked Octavia.

"Someone has to," said Annabeth optimistically, "And we won't know until we try." She signaled for the others who were practicing to stop so that they could move forward to collect their arrows and the knife. Annabeth noticed Atom following them at the side of the practice range, keeping his distance, but he was watching Octavia. "Who's your shadow?" she asked, pointing to Atom.

Octavia looked over at Atom and grimaced. "My brother told him to watch me."

"The little girl still needs a babysitter," Emily said mockingly. "That is _so_ cute."

Octavia scowled at Emily and spoke to Annabeth, "Any chance you could knock him out so I can come with you?"

"Your brother really wouldn't like that, would he?" Annabeth asked, sounding tempted by the idea.

"He's not my keeper!" said Octavia.

Emily scoffed, "Someone ought to tell him that."

"Sorry Octavia, not this time," said Annabeth, pulling her arrows out of the target. "Your leg need time to heal. You're not coming with us."

"Now you're just starting to sound like Bellamy," Octavia groaned.

"There's no need to be insulting," said Tandoori. "Is it just you two going?"

"Why?" said Emily sarcastically, "You want to try your luck?"

"Ah, no," said Tandoori. "I'm a thinker, not a fighter."

"Alby's coming with us. He's just filling some canteens from the water barrel," said Annabeth, grateful that someone had had the foresight to catch the rain water last night. They didn't know where water sources were around here, and they would have to keep a look out for one closer to camp than the river near Mount Weather.

"That's good, but you should probably still take one more person with you," Tandoori commented, "Who knows what you could run into out there."

Just then, one of the spears from the weapons crates thudded into the next target over from where they were standing. They all turned at once to see who threw it.

"Are you all done playing around here," said Clarisse, marching up to them. "Are we hunting or what?" She yanked her spear out of the target on the tree, turned and stalked away from them.

"Who is _that_?" Octavia asked.

"Clarisse La Rue," answered Tandoori. "Let's just say, she's not exactly someone you want to know."

"Who invited her along?" Annabeth muttered distastefully, shouldering her bow along with her quiver.

"Who the hell cares?" said Emily, pulling her knife out of the tree and putting it back in its sheath. "With an arm like that, I say let her come."

XX

Not too far away, a group of people were moving the fallen trees that had been cleared out of the archery range over to where they would start building the wall (the archery range would have to be just outside the wall). Jason and some of his friends were among them. Some were using knives to cut off the protruding branches of the tree which they could save for firewood and others were using axes to chop the tree trunks into evenly shaped logs.

Jason was swinging an ax when his friend Percy tapped him on the shoulder. Jason spun suddenly and stopped just short of putting his ax through Percy's arm. Percy didn't notice his near brush with dismemberment; he was too busy staring at the girls who had been practicing on the archery range. One girl in particular, even though she was new to it every move she made showed confidence in what she was doing, as though she'd done it all before. She smoothly drew the arrow, brought it to her bow and smiled when it hit the target – a beautiful smile.

"Who is that?" Percy asked as the girl was walking away from the practice range.

Jason looked to where the girls stopped at the edge of camp to meet up with Alby, who handed them each a full canteen. Clarisse was waiting a little further on looking angry (as always) and impatient for them to catch up. Jason knew Percy wasn't asking about Emily – he wouldn't have to, everyone knew who Emily Kane was – and word had already gone around that Bellamy's little sister was off limits.

"Who, Clarisse?" Jason asked.

"No, idiot," Percy said hitting him on the shoulder, "The blonde, the one with the bow. What's her name?"

"Seriously," Jason barked out a laugh. "She would squash you like a bug."

"Her name," Percy demanded, undeterred.

"Annabeth Chase," said Jason, "Beautiful, smart, and way out of your league."

"Uh huh," Percy said absentmindedly.

"And she's Thalia's best friend," Jason added.

That got Percy's attention. _That could complicate things_, he thought. But hey, they were on Earth, something no one thought was possible a few days ago, and who knew how long it would last. _Live while you're still alive_. "You got things covered here right? I'm gonna go see if the hunting party could use an extra man."

"Yeah, I'm sure they could use someone to carry their water," Jason said as Percy hurriedly picked up his ax and tucked it into his belt. "When have you ever hunted anything, besides girls with low standards, which she definitely is not?"

Percy ignored him and hurried to catch the hunting party before they left.

XX

He wasn't the only one. After Clarke and Wells left, Glass lost track of where Emily went until she saw her with Annabeth about to leave. She didn't get the chance to talk to Wells, but she could still tell Emily what she's seen. They needed to know.

"Emily, I was looking for you," said Glass. "I thought you left already."

"We're leaving now," said Emily.

"I need to tell you something," said Glass. Emily turned her attention to Glass, and so did the others. Glass felt uneasy from the sudden attention. "Do you have a minute?" Glass asked, indicating that she wanted to talk to Emily alone. Emily noticed that Glass looked worried and was about to ask what was wrong when Clarisse came marching up again.

"Are you gonna spend all day talking?" she asked belligerently.

"No one is holding you back Clarisse," Annabeth said tersely. "For that matter, no one asked you to come along."

"Right, like I'm just gonna sit here and starve while you screw things up and come back empty handed Chase." Clarisse wasn't friends with any of them, but she knew it was probably a bad idea to go out there alone – that didn't mean that she was gonna be nice about it though. "Surprised your coming Kane," she said with a sneer. "Is her highness actually gonna do a real job like one of the workers?"

Out of everything that was insinuated in that sentence, one word caught Emily's attention, and her anger.

"Do _not_ call me Kane," she said through gritted teeth. Her hand twitched towards one of her knives. It was a small move, but Clarisse caught it.

"Oh, you want to go a few rounds?" Clarisse asked threateningly.

"Don't tempt me," Emily said dangerously.

"It figures that would be your first recourse," Tandoori scoffed.

Clarisse turned to her and said, "You have something to say to me?"

"In a test of strength you would take the prize Clarisse," said Tandoori. "I would challenge you to a battle of wit, but I see that you are unarmed."

Clarisse scowled – not recognizing the reference, but knowing that she'd been insulted – and stepped threateningly towards Tandoori. Tandoori took a step back, and Annabeth and Emily moved in front of her protectively.

"Alright ladies," Alby said stepping between them. He thought that now was the time to cut in before things got out of hand. "If we want to actually catch something and be back by dark we should probably get going. So how about you all take a step back before you do something you regret."

"Speak for yourself," said Emily.

Percy chose that moment to come up and say, "Hey, need one more?"

Looking from face to face he noticed that he'd just stepped into a tense situation; his appearance did cause the minute distraction that was needed to break away from it though. Clarisse turned and stalked out of camp; Emily and Annabeth started walking too.

"I'll see you later Glass," Emily said over her shoulder.

Alby slung his own bow and quiver of arrows over his shoulder, and clapping Percy on the shoulder said, "The more the merrier." The two boys brought up the rear of the hunting party heading out of camp.

"That ought to be an interesting trip," Octavia quipped.

"Still upset that you're not going?" asked Tandoori. "If that group comes back one short, I know who we'd like that one to be." Glass stared at her. She didn't think a joke like that could ever be funny – if she was joking. For someone so small Tandoori had a low voice and it always sounded serious, no matter what she was saying. "Don't look so worried," Tandoori said. "Emily and Annabeth are both bad asses. They'll be fine."

"You're not going?" Octavia questioned.

"Hell no!" Tandoori looked at her like she was crazy. "There are spear throwing grounders out there. I'd rather stay here among the devils we know." She turned and headed back into camp.

"And she says not to worry. You coming?" Octavia asked, nodding back towards camp. Glass shook her head and Octavia went on ahead. There had to be something fun to do around here, if that guy Atom didn't get in the way.

Glass stayed at the edge of camp looking out into the woods. These people were not her friends; her friends were out there. Wells and Clarke had gone out and now so was Emily, and she hadn't gotten a chance to warn them, to tell them that the danger might be closer than they think. After last night, when she and Wells had gotten back to camp...what she thought she saw in the trees. It had been late, it was dark, and her nerves were already on edge; at the time Glass thought that she'd imagined it, but after hearing about the grounders from Clarke...now she wasn't so sure.

XXXXX

"Go ahead and ask," said Thalia. Clarke kept glancing at her worriedly and it was starting to get annoying.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Clarke asked. Thalia looked like she was doing a lot better than when they arrived yesterday, but she was still concerned.

"I feel fine. I feel great actually," Thalia said enthusiastically. "Maybe it's being here, in the sunlight and the fresh air…"

"That's great, but still maybe you shouldn't push it," said Clarke.

"You need the help Clarke. I didn't see anyone else lining up to volunteer," Thalia pointed out. She took out a bag of the berries that she gathered that morning, "Here, try these. They're supposed to be good for you."

Clarke took some of the berries – she was hungry and she knew she would need her strength – and Thalia passed the bag to Wells. They were moving at a steady pace back towards the river, hoping to pick up Jasper's trail, or the trail of the grounders who took him. Thalia looked back when she heard Bellamy and Murphy coming up. Those two had been lagging behind since they left camp.

"Hey, where'd you get those?" said Murphy pointing to the bag of berries.

"In the woods," Thalia answered, turning back around. She didn't stop to offer them any.

"Hold up, what's your hurry," said Bellamy. He had his gun out, waving it lazily in the air. "You don't survive a spear through the heart."

"Hey, put the gun away Bellamy," Wells said stepping up to him.

Murphy pushed him back. "Why don't you do something about it," he challenged. Wells didn't back off.

"Down boys," Thalia said irritably. They didn't have the time for these two to duke it out again.

"Jasper screamed when they moved him," Clarke said to Bellamy impatiently. "If the spear had struck his heart he'd have died instantly. That doesn't mean we have time to waste."

Clarke started to turn away from him, but Bellamy grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go," he said with a smirk.

No sooner had he said it than he felt metal against his neck. Thalia was right next to him with a knife to his throat. If she pressed just a little harder she would draw blood.

"Hands off, or I'll take them off," she said with the same fierce, cold look in her eye as when she held a gun on him. It was that look that told him, just as it had last night, that she wasn't bluffing. Bellamy let go of Clarke's wrist; Thalia withdrew her knife and stepped back. She kept her knife in her hand though, ready to use it. Bellamy saw that it wasn't one from the weapons crates. Thalia's knife had a handle that was wrapped in leather with some kind of markings branded into it. Bellamy wondered where she got it, but he didn't ask.

"The only way the Ark is going to think I'm dead is _if_ I'm dead! Got it?" Clarke said forcefully.

"The Brave Princess," said Bellamy, his focus back on Clarke.

"Why don't you find your own nickname?" They all looked back the way they'd come to see Finn coming up. "You call this a rescue party? We should split up, cover more ground. Ladies shall we." Finn swept his arm forward in a mock bow inviting Clarke and Thalia to go ahead of him.

Clarke, Thalia and Finn took the route that led up a rise to higher ground, leaving Wells with Murphy and Bellamy to take the low ground. Wells watched Clarke go off with Finn, but she didn't look back at him.

"You're late," Thalia said to Finn.

"Better late than never," said Clarke.

"I like to think so," Finn said grinning.

XX

Wells was keeping his eyes on Clarke as he walked, on the glimpses he could see of her through the trees up on the rise that she was following with Thalia and Finn.

"I guess we have more in common than we thought," said Bellamy just behind him. Wells' focus on Clarke hadn't escaped his notice.

"We have nothing in common," Wells stated bluntly. He pulled his eyes away from Clarke, who was out of sight with the others now anyway, and looked to the path ahead of him.

"Really? We both came down here to protect someone we love," said Bellamy drawing a glance from Wells. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." There was a pause before he added, "Of course for you it's worse. With Finn around, Clarke doesn't even see you." He walked on ahead past Wells saying over his shoulder, "It's like you're not even here."

XXXXX

Emily and Annabeth were leading their hunting party through the woods retracing the path they had taken to where they saw the deer. It might be a long shot but learning to hunt was the only shot they had. And it seemed like everything that was happening now, and that had led them here, was a long shot.

"Do you really think that Thalia and Clarke are going to be able to find Jasper and bring him back alive?" Annabeth asked Emily.

"Do you really think we're going to be able the hunt and kill something that we can take back to camp to eat?" Emily countered.

Neither one of them had any kind of definite answer to their questions. Everything about the situation that they found themselves in was new, unfamiliar territory. It was all up in the air, so to speak.

"What do you think your friend wanted to talk to you about?" Annabeth asked out of curiosity and to chance the subject.

"Glass?" In the confrontation with Clarisse, Emily had almost forgotten about Glass wanting to talk to her before they left. "I don't know. She's probably just worried about what happened in camp with Wells."

"She has a thing for him," said Annabeth. Emily glanced at her; it was very observant of her to pick up on that in the brief interaction that she'd had with them. "Wells is going to be having more problems here than most of us."

"Oh no, it looked like he was making friends _really_ fast," Emily said.

"Actually, you and Wells are in the same boat. People have the same reasons to hate you as they do him," Annabeth said speculatively.

"I don't need you to tell me that," said Emily, starting to get irritated.

Annabeth noticed, "Just making conversation."

"Try a different conversation."

"I get the feeling that if they tried something like that with you, you'd just beat the crap out of them without holding back," Annabeth continued the conversation, but in a different direction.

Emily smiled slightly. "That is true."

"Whereas Wells, he can fight, but he doesn't want to hurt anyone. He's always been a gentleman."

"When have you ever met Wells before?" Emily asked, surprised.

"He visited the Care Centre with his father a few years back. The girls there were talking about it for weeks," Annabeth explained, rolling her eyes. "He's kind of a supernova."

"I'll bet," said Emily taking the lead. "Come on, it's this way."

Percy sidled up next to Annabeth as the group made their way carefully down a rocky incline. As he was trying to think of something to say to her that didn't sound completely stupid, her foot slipped on some loose stones that went clattering down the incline. Percy caught her arm to steady her. She looked at him, surprised and said, "Thanks."

He smiled at her, trying to think of something to say. She tilted her head questioningly and he realized that he was still holding her arm and quickly let go. She laughed softly as she brushed her hair back behind her ear with her free hand. Her gentle laugh helped to unfreeze his brain. As they started moving again, trying to find a way to keep her attention, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"After what happened this morning, being out here doesn't concern you?" he asked. "You're not worried?"

"Well, maybe," Annabeth said, not sounding very concerned, "but that doesn't change the fact that we need food."

Annabeth was used to being hungry, even more so than most. The kids in the care centers like the one she grew up in were given just barely enough to get by – not so different form the kids in the Skybox actually. All rationed supplies on the Ark were supposed to be distributed based on need, but in grand scheme of things, orphans and criminals didn't count. Being in the care center hadn't been as bad as when she _wasn't_ an orphan though, when her life was left in her parents' care…or lack thereof.

With her parents, there had been less chance of being fed and more chance of getting hit if she complained about being hungry. Thalia had been her saving grace (no pun intended), her and their friend Luke. They had shared their rations with her, helped her get new clothes when she needed them, given her somewhere to go when things got bad at home. Annabeth's friends became her home. And Luke was the one who taught her how to do what she needed to do to fend for herself when she was placed in the Care Center, whether it was stealing, fighting, whatever.

Not that she felt inclined to share any of that; Annabeth liked to talk, just…not about herself.

"What about you?" she asked brightly as the ground leveled out and the walk became easier, "You're not afraid?"

"Of grounders?" Percy said, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "I think it's pretty amazing. That there have been people down here all this time and we never knew it. It would be cool to know how they survived."

Annabeth looked back at him and said, "You should be careful."

"I guess I'm just more curious than cautious," Percy said carelessly.

"I meant, be careful," she said pointing to the ground by his feet, "There's a snake by your foot."

Percy looked down and then jumped back with a shout, falling over. He scrambled back from the green and yellow snake that was slithering near his feet. Annabeth smiled and laughed, a sweet laugh that sounded like music. Percy looked up at her and smiled too. He would gladly make a fool of himself again to hear that laugh and see her framed in the sunlight that made her blonde hair shine like it was lit by a halo.

Emily looked back to see what Annabeth was laughing about and saw the snake on the ground. She came over and picked up the snake by the middle of its body as it tried to slither away.

"Hey, watch it," said Alby. "It might be poisonous."

"Relax, it's just a garter snake," Emily said, smiling as the snake coiled its body around her arm. Emily and Wells had often competed for the top spot in school classes, including the various Earth Skills courses that they had taken. Wells had beaten her in botany, but Emily had been top of the class in zoology. She liked animals, at least in theory (there were no animals on the Ark). The snake's body felt smooth and dry but also cool, and it tickled as the scales moved over her skin. Emily laughed, "This little darling is harmless."

Clarisse snorted, "Figures you'd have a thing for snakes."

Emily cut a glance at her. "Compared to the last snake we saw, this one is absolutely _adorable_," she said.

Annabeth held out her hand to Percy and helped him to his feet. "Come on," she said smiling at him, "We should keep moving."


	15. Beauty Of A New World

Author's note: Sorry that it has been so long since the last chapter. It is near the end of my school semester and I have had projects and exams due that have kept me busy, but the new chapter is finally ready. Hope you enjoy. Please leave comments and reviews :)

.

* * *

Chapter 15 - Beauty Of A New World

Antonia Sinclair was at work in the second level of the drop ship, wiring a still active wristband into the ship's communication system. The others had made what repairs they could to the hardware and had gone off to explore outside, curious to see more of their new surroundings. Antonia stayed behind to work on the wristband herself and Monty stayed to help her. He was also telling her about what happened that morning at the river, and about Jasper.

"Jasper may not be my real brother, but he's always been there," Monty was saying. "Every memory I have, Jasper's right there with me." Monty stopped what he was doing and looked to the door, distracted. "I should be out there looking for him."

Antonia could see that Monty was conflicted, and she sympathized with him, really. But honestly, she had other things on her mind. "You're not going to cry are you?" she asked.

"Shut up," Monty said good-naturedly, and then they both laughed. "Is it ready?"

"Yeah, let's try it now," Antonia said hopefully. The wristband was tied into the communication system and if it worked the way they had in mind then they should be able to transmit a signal from their communication system to the Ark via the wristband's signal. Given the wristband's limited ability they would not be able to speak, but they could send a tone through like old mores code to let the Ark know that they were there.

"Here goes nothing," said Monty and he turned the power for the communication system on while Antonia watched the monitor. For a moment she smiled hopefully as the signal they were trying to transmit strengthened. Then they heard a high pitched wine and the wristband burst into smoke with a POP. Monty and Antonia jumped back waving the smoke out of their faces.

"What happened?" asked Monty, staring at the still smoking wristband.

"We didn't compensate for the power surge," Antonia said angrily, switching off the power. "The wristband can't handle the same amount of current that goes through the communication system."

"So…we need some kind of surge protector to stop it from overloading," said Monty.

"Yeah, that _and_ another wristband," said Antonia, leaning against the wall and sliding down to sit on the floor, running her hand through her hair. Antonia didn't like the thought of that. Every wristband that was removed lessened the already slim chance of the Ark thinking it was safe to come down. And yet the only way to let them know that it really was safe was to try again with another wristband, which means that they needed another volunteer. There was no way in hell she was taking off her own wristband.

While Antonia was contemplating all this and Monty was checking the communication system for further damage, the hatch to the first level opened and Octavia come up. And she wasn't alone.

Octavia climbed into the second level and stepped back from the hatch to let the boy who was following her come up. She smiled at him; she didn't know his name, but he was cute. As he got to the top of the ladder, the boy was suddenly pulled back and fell down the ladder with a shout.

"Get out of here!" someone shouted at him.

There were sounds of a struggle, and then someone coming up the ladder. This time it was Atom. As he sat at the edge of the hatch with his legs hanging down through the opening, Octavia smirked at him and said, "One of these days you'll realize, you can't control me."

Atom wasn't interested in playing her games. "That guy you were with, did you know he was in for murder?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Octavia's smirk fell away. "The funny thing is I'm actually protecting _him_ from _you_. Your brother wasn't kidding before. He'll hurt those guys you were talking to."

"Come on," Octavia complained. "You're too hot to be my brother's bitch."

"I'm nobody's bitch," Atom snapped, getting sick of her acting like some spoiled brat. He moved to go back down the ladder, pulling the hatch door closed behind him.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Octavia rushed forward but was too late to stop him. "What are you doing?! Hey, open the door!" she shouted banging on the door. She heard the lock move into place.

"Consider yourself controlled!" Atom shouted back.

"Is this all you've got?! They locked me under the floor for sixteen years _just for being born_!" Octavia stopped pounding on the door and looked around for something she could use. "This is nothing."

"Ahem," a voice said behind her. "Do you mind keeping it down?" Octavia spun around and saw Monty and Antonia working on one of the pieces of equipment in the dim emergency lights. "We're trying to work here," said Monty.

_They should have left her under the floor_, thought Antonia, _her and her brother_. It was because of Bellamy that she might never see her parents again, and now because of Octavia, all three of them were locked in here, when Antonia could be getting the others to help fix their electrical problem – Ember was the electrician around here. With nothing else to do at the moment Octavia came over to see what they were working on and Antonia saw that she was still wearing her wristband. Maybe she could be useful after all.

**XXXXX**

Glass sighed as she pulled her light blonde hair into a messy side-ponytail. It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was bearing down on them. She was following the group of people led by Kayla who had been heading out of camp saying that they were going to look for berries to eat. Camp was bustling with activity when they left, with people moving fallen trees, trying to clear out more space, chopping wood, starting work on the wall and arguing over the best way to build it. On top of being on edge from worrying about her friends for half the day and hoping that they all came back alright, Glass also found all the movement, commotion and disorder in camp to be disorienting. When she saw the group leaving Glass decided to tag along since they weren't going too far from camp, and it was doing no good to stay put worrying.

Glass trailed along at the back of the group as Kayla led them to the grove where she and Thalia had gathered berries this morning. Coming up to the spot Glass began to take in more of her surroundings. It was astounding. The bushes growing around them were decorated with patches of berries growing on them and flowers of various hues of colour like perfectly made natural ornaments. Glass gasped, drawing in a breath and was struck by how sweet the air smelled. Hearing a noise above her she looked up and saw a group of birds take off from the trees and fly up into the sky.

The sky; they all grew up living in the sky. But down here, looking up to the sky from the ground was something else entirely. It seemed so vast and open, almost unknowable, as if it were impossible to reach. Glass felt a wave of vertigo and closed her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, trying to feel more grounded. This place was incredibly, and despite the unknown dangers around them, it was beautiful. But also off putting, disorienting. There was so much of _everything_, all of it so strange, screaming at her senses all at once.

"Agoraphobia," Glass heard someone say. She opened her eyes to see Tandoori looking at her, "The fear of wide-open spaces, or uncontrollable or unfamiliar situations or people. Is that what you're feeling?"

"I don't have a phobia," said Glass softly.

Tandoori nodded, "Just anxiety then. Is that why you've barely said a word to anyone other than your friends since we got here?" Tandoori didn't wait for her to answer before saying, "Come on, are you going to help or not?"

Glass followed Tandoori to where the others were picking berries to take back to their friends still in camp. She took one of the bags that they were filling and started picking berries as well, careful not to break them. After a while the rhythmic movement and listening to the easy chatter of the people around her who were enjoying the simple task allowed Glass to relax. The sun on her face (something new to all of them) and the sweet smelling breeze helped to melt away some of the tension that she'd been carrying all day. It was actually pleasant out here, away from the noise and shouting in camp.

Glass started humming to herself and before she knew it she was singing softly, a song that they all knew from home. She looked up when she heard someone else join in – a girl with tan coloured skin and thick dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the top of her head and a pair of goggles on her forehead. Her voice was a little off key, but she sang joyfully. They smiled at each other and they kept singing while the others listened to the two voices blending together in a beautiful melody. When the song was over they were met with applause by the others. Glass tucked her hair behind her ears shyly.

"Hi," the other girl said with a laugh in her voice. "I'm Blondie."

Glass looked at her raven black hair questioningly, "Why?" Blondie just shrugged.

"I remember you, you know," Tandoori said to Glass. "You sang in the Unity Day pageant six years ago."

"You remember that?" Glass asked surprised. She remembered singing in the pageant when she was eleven. She loved to sing, but she'd been so nervous that she'd almost refused to, and the only reason she had was because Wells encouraged her to. He told her people loved hearing her sing.

"Yes. They called you the little girl with the big voice," Tandoori replied.

"You remember _that_?"

"Tandy remembers everything," one of the others said.

"Listen," Blondie said shushing them. "Do you hear that?" she whispered looking up to the trees above them where faintly musical sounds were coming down to them. The others looked up and saw black and white feathered shaped flitting through the leaves. Listening closely they heard a familiar melody echoing above them.

"Do that again," said Tandoori. "Sing something else."

Glass looked up to the trees and sang a few notes. They waited for a moment and laughed when they heard the same notes repeated back to them. Blondie whistled a short tune and got the same result as the small birds echoed it back to them. It seemed they had more of an audience than they thought. They continued to play their little game for a while, to everyone's amusement, until the others were ready to return to camp. As they were leaving the grove, the birds that had been echoing their songs rose up into the air in a small swarm. The birds flew in sync with each other as they swirling above them, raising their voices in chorus as if saying goodbye for now.

**XXXXX**

"You sure you want to do this?" Monty asked Octavia. "Your brother won't approve of you helping us contact the Ark." He was sitting with Octavia who had her arm held out for him to remove her wristband.

"No offence Octavia, but your brother's an idiot," Antonia said as she paced the room.

Octavia didn't argue with her. "Just do it," she said to Monty.

Monty worked a tool under the wristband and carefully pried at the line where it closed. Octavia winced; Monty put more pressure on it and the wristband clicked open. "Ow!" Octavia cried out rubbing her wrist.

"Sorry," said Monty. He looked down at the wristband in his hand. The small light on the inside sensor that showed if it was still active blinked and went out. "Damn it," Monty slumped back against the wall, "It's dead."

"How are you supposed to turn it into a radio if you can't even take it off?" Octavia asked.

Antonia snatched up the now useless wristband from Monty's hand and threw it against the wall with a shout of frustration. It broke in half, the pieces clattering to the floor.

"Hey, take it easy," Octavia said, standing up.

"Easy?" Antonia said harshly, turning on her. "Those of you who are orphans, you have my sympathy. But my family is still up there, and I actually would like to see them again. Because of your brother that might never happen, so don't tell me to take it easy!" With those last words she pushed Octavia back from her against the wall.

"Hey," said Monty. "Come on, Antonia. It's not her fault."

Antonia turned away from them and stalked to the other side of the room. Her anger drained away as she leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, putting her head in her hands. Octavia was torn between lashing back at her, and trying to find some way to help. But she couldn't think of any way to make Antonia feel better. Before any of them had a chance to say anything else, the hatch was pushed open and Atom's head popped up. He scanned the room for Octavia and when his eyes found her, he nodded and disappeared back down the ladder.

"Go on," Monty said to Octavia. "We've got work to do."

Octavia moved toward the hatch, ruffling Monty's hair as she passed him. Before going down the ladder she turned back to Monty. "Hey Monty," she said, "Jasper would understand why you stayed behind."

Monty looked at her and smiled gratefully. "How is someone raised beneath the floor not a total basket case?"

"Who says I'm not?" Octavia replied teasingly.

When she came down the ladder to the first level, Atom was there waiting for her, leaning against the wall. "It's because he loves you," he said, "Your brother. The reason you're not a basket case is because you were loved."

"Yeah, I'm a lucky girl."

"I'm not saying I had it worse than you Octavia, because I didn't," Atom said coming towards her. "But you have someone who would do anything for you. I envy that."

Octavia had never thought of any part of her life as something to envy. She'd grown up hidden away under the floor paneling in her family's living quarters, always living in fear that the guards or inspectors would find her. And then they did. But Atom was right – for sixteen years her brother and mother had loved and protected her.

Octavia thought about Annabeth, the first friend she'd ever had. When they'd been talking all day yesterday Annabeth had avoided anything about her family. She didn't want to talk about her parents…and it wasn't just because they were dead. When Annabeth told her that her parents were dead, Octavia had said 'sorry', because that's what people say. Annabeth had looked at her and said, "Don't be. I'm not." That was the only time Octavia had seen Annabeth look less than cheerful. Octavia guessed that in some way, she was lucky. Her brother had come down to Earth, just for her; she still had family, which was more than anyone else here could say.

Atom nodded towards the door, and they both walked outside, passing Glass on her way in. Glass walked into the drop ship and climbed the ladder to the second level where Monty and Antonia had been at work since the others left that morning. When she came through the hatch she found Monty tinkering with one of the machines. Antonia was sitting against the far wall with her head leaned back, her hand turning over the pendant that she wore on a necklace, apparently deep in thought.

"Hi Monty," Glass said, going up to him.

"Hey," he responded with a small smile.

Glass pulled a small bag with berries out of her pocket and held it out to him, "Though I should bring you something."

"What is it?" he asked.

Opening the bag and seeing the berries inside his smile widened. He grew up on Farm Station and knew that these sweet treat were good to eat. He poured out a handful of the small red treats and stuffed them into his mouth at once. He mumbled 'thanks' with a full mouth. Glass smiled back at him, and then glanced over at Antonia. The dark haired girl's expression was strained; her different coloured eyes – one blue, one green – were troubled.

"Is Antonia okay?" Glass asked.

Monty swallowed down the sweet and slightly tart mouthful of berries before answering. "She's just worried," he said.

"About what? Contacting the Ark?"

"Everything," Monty explained. "Her dad's the head of engineering. He'd be the one monitoring the wristbands. She wants to talk to him."

Monty had been recruited to engineering, not as early as Antonia, but he had worked under her father, and he and Antonia had known each other a little bit on the Ark. Glass looked from Monty to Antonia, and then started towards her.

"Careful," Monty said softly behind her. "She's about ready to bite somebody's head off."

"Hey," Glass said tentatively as she stopped in front of Antonia. She held the berries out to her. "I brought something to eat."

Antonia put a hand against her forehead and looked up at Glass. "I'm not hungry," she said curtly.

"That's not what Monty said," Glass muttered.

"Yeah?" said Antonia. She shot a glare to where Monty was watching their exchange. He quickly turned back to his work when she caught him looking. "What else did Monty say?"

"That your dad is up there, monitoring the wristbands and you're worried about him." Glass sat down against the wall next to Antonia. "My mom is up there too," said Glass. "It was supposed to be visiting day today wasn't it?"

Antonia nodded. "The council's probable giving the people some bogus excuse for why they can't see their kids, like maybe sickness in prison station or something."

"My mom's probably worried sick," said Glass. "But at least your dad knows where you are."

"For all the good that does," Antonia said morosely.

"Why are you here?" Glass asked. Antonia looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Most people knew the rumors about why she was arrested. "I mean…why did they send you to Earth?" Glass amended. "Someone as smart as you, who can do what you did…It just seems like they would want to keep you around."

"You'd think so," said Antonia. "When I hacked into the Ark-net, I accessed some restricted files. I knew the council was hiding something, and I wanted to know what. And I found information about the oxygen crisis." Glass nodded. It sounded like Antonia had been imprisoned for the same reason that Clarke had – too much information. Antonia continued, "And that they were planning on sending the juvenile prisoners to Earth."

"What?" Glass said surprised, "You knew they were sending us here?"

"Yeah, I don't like secrets. They bug me," Antonia said. "That's why I've been locked up in solitary for the last year. I was just a girl who knew too much." She huffed out a breath, "Too smart for my own good. Ironic isn't it."

Glass considered what Antonia said, and it sounded like the young technician related better to machines than people. If Antonia had been in solitary for a year, then she wouldn't have gotten the chance to know anyone else in the Skybox. She might know a few people, like Monty, from before she was arrested, but she hadn't had the chance to make friends.

* * *

**_Flashback: five years ago_**

_Eleven-year-old Iris Glass was sitting in a corner in an empty hallway with her knees drawn up to her chest. She'd just left school, and was hiding away from her classmates after some of them had been teasing her about her father leaving. She knew that her parents had been fighting for a long time now. She'd heard them arguing at night after she went to bed. She'd kept hoping that they would work it out, and that things would get better. Until just a few weeks ago when she'd come home to find her father gone and her mother crying in their living room. He'd left to move in with some other woman that Iris had never met. _

_._

Daddy, please stop yelling, I can't stand the sound. Make Mama stop crying, cause I need you around

I hear glasses breaking as I sit up in my bed. I hope that you didn't mean those nasty things you said

_._

_Affairs were nothing new, but moving out was drastic, given the regulations on housing storage. Since then, Iris and her mother Sonja had had to move out of their flat, since two people couldn't occupy a flat meant for three, to a much smaller living quarters on a different deck – Which meant that Iris had had to move away from her friends. That was probably just as well, since her friends didn't stay her friends with the scandal surrounding her family. These days Iris found herself walking to and from school alone, keeping her head down, trying not to be noticed. It wasn't the teasing that bothered her, as much as the fact that it was her friend – former friend – Roma doing most of the teasing._

_Iris didn't feel she could talk to her mother about it though. Her mom had enough to deal with as it was. Now, without her father's seemingly endless income of credits and ration points, Sonja had had to sell most of her possessions at the exchange in the redistribution center, and was scraping by just to keep the lights on in their home and more than protein paste in their cabinet._

_._

Mama, please stop crying, I can't stand the sound. Your pain is painful and it's tearing me down

I ran away today, ran from the noise, ran away. Don't want to go back to that place but don't have no choice, no way

_._

_Iris had been relieved to find this empty hallway, somewhere to just sit and be alone for a few minute. She wasn't ready to go home, where her mother would be trying to hide how sad she was. Sonja tried to pretend that things were okay, to hide the hurt that she felt, but her daughter saw it anyway. And it hurt to see it. Her father hadn't just left Sonja, he'd left Iris too. He hadn't tried to speak to his daughter or see her since he walked out that day, gone before she even got back from school, without so much as a goodbye. Though that shouldn't have surprised her. Her father was the Commander in charge of the Guardsman, and he'd wanted a child to follow in his footsteps – a boy, not a weak girl. And he'd taken every chance to remind her of that._

_._

In our family portrait we look pretty happy. Let's play pretend, act like it comes naturally

I don't want to have to split the holidays; I don't want two addresses

I don't want a stepmother anyways and I don't want my mom to have to change her last name

_._

_"Hey," a voice close to her made Iris stiffen. _

_It was a boy. Glass kept her head down and sniffed back her tears. Letting them see her cry only made things worse; if she ignored him maybe he would go away and leave her alone. No such luck. She heard footsteps coming closer, and a pair of shoes stopped beside her, shoes made from the good kind of material, the kind that she and her mother could no longer afford. _

_"Are you okay?" the boy asked. _

_Iris looked up since it seemed like he wasn't going away. She gasped softly, and the boy saw her bright green eyes open wide. She knew who he was, this dark skinned boy with short cut hair. Wells Jaha, the Chancellor's son. He was in the class above hers in school. Unlike the kids she had stopped in this empty corridor to avoid, Wells wasn't looking at her mockingly. He only looked concerned._

_"What's wrong?" he asked again. That note of concern in his voice almost undid her, and a few tears leaked from her eyes. Now she really wished that he would go away; she didn't want him to see her cry._

_Twelve-year-old Wells stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. The girl's bright green eyes swam with tears that ran down her face. A very pretty face surrounded by shiny, light blonde hair. He could walk away and leave her there, but that didn't seem right. He didn't know what to do about a crying girl. But maybe he knew someone who did. He reached down and took her hand._

_"Come on," Wells said to her gently. _

_Iris was too surprised to protest as he pulled her to her feet. He even picked up her bag for her and put it over his shoulder along with his – Wells' mother had always taught him to be nice to girls. Iris wiped her eyes and followed him as he led her down the corridor. She didn't say anything, not even to ask where they were going, as he pulled her along. She almost had to jog to keep up as he forgot that his legs were longer than hers. Finally they stopped at a door. Wells held his ID tag around his neck up to the scanner and it opened._

_Iris hesitated to follow him inside. Feeling the pull on his hand as she stopped, Wells looked back at her. "It's okay," he said reassuringly._

_He smiled at her, and Iris couldn't help but smile back. She followed him inside. It was somebody's living quarters, bigger than the place she'd had with her mother and father, before…_

_"What took you so long?" a voice said impatiently. _

_Iris saw two girls who were sitting on a couch in front of a vid screen. One of them, a girl with blonde hair like Iris' and blue eyes had her school books spread open on the table in front of her. The other was Asian looking, with long dark hair pulled back into two French-braids. They were the same age, but the dark haired girl looked older than twelve. Her books were in a stack on the table unopened, and she was lounging on the couch like she had either done her work already, or couldn't be bothered to do it. She was the one who had spoken. Both of the girls looked at Iris with interest._

_"I found someone," Wells announced proudly. "She's gonna work with us today." Turning to Iris, Wells said, "These are my friends. They can be your friends now too. This is Clarke," he said pointing to the blonde, blue eyed girl._

_"Hi," Clarke smiled brightly and waved a hand. Iris smiled back at her warm welcome._

_"And that's Emily," Wells continued._

_Glass' eyes opened wider as she recognized the girl's name; Emily as in Emily Kane. "You're Vice Chancellor Kane's daughter," she blurted out._

_Emily's look of interest turned into a scowl as she stood up and crossed her arms. The smile sipped off Iris' face at the way this girl looked at her, like she was an intruder, or a bug that she would like to step on. But Emily didn't object as Wells led Iris over to join them._

_"This is…" Wells' voice trailed off as he realized that he didn't know what to say. He recognized Iris from school vaguely, but he didn't know her name._

_"What, she doesn't have a name?" said Emily._

_Emily was taller than her but Iris lifted her chin and met the other girl's bold gaze with one of her own. "Iris," she said, "Iris Glass."_

_Emily smirked at her, looking down on Iris like she was something she wanted to break. "Nice to meet you, _Glass_."_

* * *

Glass had found her friends – or more accurately, they had found her – when she needed them most. Now it looked like Antonia needed a friend. She glanced around the ship at the hammocks that were strung up where those who had preferred to sleep inside had spent the night. She would bet that Antonia had been one of them.

"Have you been outside?" Glass asked.

"Of course," said Antonia, "I went out with everyone else when we landed."

"No, I mean after that," said Glass. Antonia looked at her blankly. "There's a lot to see out there."

"Nature," Antonia said the word like it left a bad taste in her mouth. She shook her head. "Not my thing."

"How do you know if you haven't tried it?" said Glass.

Antonia considered her for a moment, but didn't reply. Honestly, she didn't _want_ to go out there. She had spent her whole life immersed in technology, even more so than anyone else there – she'd been recruited to engineering at age twelve; she'd been building computers since she was three. It was what she knew, what she was good at, how she was useful. What could she do out there in a forest?

Glass got to her feet. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Antonia looked at her doubtfully, and then decided, what the hell? Until she thought up a solution to the problem – which she would! – she had nothing better to do. Antonia took the hand that Glass offered and let the other girl help her up. As she stood Glass saw that Antonia was a head taller than her, with long slender legs and a willowy frame. Her black hair was pulled back into a messy braid with locks hanging loose, framing her face as though she couldn't be bothered to fix it. Her blue and green eyes gave her an exotic look. Antonia was the kind of person who was pretty without realizing it, with too many other thoughts going through her head.

Antonia followed Glass down the ladder and out of the ship. She blinked, holding up a hand to shield her eyes, as she stepped out into the bright sunlight. Glass led Antonia along the path that she'd taken earlier. The songbirds had made Glass feel better; maybe it would help Antonia too, if she could open her eyes and allow herself to see beyond a computer screen, to some of the beauty of this new world, so unlike anything they'd ever experienced before. She just needed someone to show it to her.

**XXXXX**

**_On The Ark_**

_"__Attention. The mess hall will be closed from 2100 hours to 0800 hours for maintenance. Attention. The mess hall will be closed from 2100 hours…"_

The announcement went out over the comm. system. Cece barely hear it as she was in conversation with the chief guard of Alpha Station, Sargent David Miller.

"The count is at 24 dead," Cece was telling him. "They're working on trying to reestablish communications, but..." She trailed off as a group of civilians walked passed them coming out of the mess hall.

"Are they sure it's radiation?" Sargent Miller asked once the civilians were out of earshot.

"Difficult to say," said Cece. "The wristbands tell us if the kids are in distress, but not what's causing it." She glanced at his worried face. "Your son is still alive Sargent," Cece said to him. "I checked the board just an hour ago."

Sargent Miller gave her half a smile, grateful for that information, and the parted ways as he turned down a different corridor and she entered the mess hall. Miller was one of the few parents of The 100 who were in the know about where their children had been sent, where his son was now – the general population had been told that there was no visitation because there was a virus in Prison Station and it had to be quarantined. Miller, and a few of those other parents, had helped her pack some supplies into the drops ship before the launch, when the council would have sent them with nothing. It had been a risk, but they'd given the kids what little they could: camping gear, blankets, tents, torches…weapons.

Cece had managed get to Emily and tell her daughter where the sword that she'd trained with for years was hidden in the third level of the drop ship before she'd been taken away to board the ship – Emily would have it to protect herself. She just hoped that the reason the wristband signals were dropping wasn't because the kids were killing each other with those weapons.

Cece spotted Abby, and her assistant Jackson, in the line where their ID chips were scanned and their rations distributed and moved to join them. "Abby," she said in greeting, "Jackson."

"Officer Kane," Jackson returned. Cece half smiled at him. The young doctor always spoke so formally to her or any other officer for that matter, even in their off-time.

Abby smiled at her friend, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, and worry lines tightened Abby's face. Cece could understand why she would be feeling stressed. At the meeting today, the council was going to decide on their next course of action. Cece was not a council member and so wasn't party to their meetings. But she knew the matter that was up for debate: whether or not more lives needed to be sacrificed to preserve the Ark.

While waiting for the line to move, Cece looked around the mess hall. At the far side of the room she spotted her husband. Marcus Kane was deep in conversation with some of his fellow councilors. Cece knew that he was for the plan for culling the Ark's population to save oxygen and he was making his case with the other council members. She turned away. Things had been strained between her and Marcus since Abby's near execution – she had avoided going back to their living quarters at all last night.

"Are you alright?" Abby asked in concern.

"Marcus has been lobbying for votes all day," said Cece.

"How are things between you two?" asked Abby. Cece ignored the question, moving her tray down the line. Abby smiled sympathetically, "That bad, huh?"

"You should be campaigning for votes, too," Cece said, changing the subject.

"She's right Abby," Jackson put in.

"We'll have our chance at the briefing," said Abby.

"Excuse me, Dr. Griffin." Abby and Cece both looked around at the young woman with light brown skin and brown hair in a red jacket who came up to them. "I have a question about the quarantine. My boyfriend's in lockup. I went to go see him. Instead, I saw an open air duct. Now, if there really was a virus, wouldn't you move to contain the airflow?"

"The virus isn't airborne," said Abby. Years on the council made the lie roll easily off her tongue. "That's why the ducts are open."

"Can you tell me if he's okay?" she asked. Her concern and worry in her voice were also easy to see in her warm brown eyes.

"I can't. I'm sorry," said Abby.

"No, you're not." The young woman's expression hardened and she dropped the carefully respectful tone. "First the dropship, now this," she shook her head; it was easy to see she wasn't buying into the council's latest bullshit. "The council's hiding something, and I'm gonna find out what it is."

With that, irate girl turned and stalked away. Cece hid a smile; it took nerve to talk to a councilor like that. She liked it, the honesty in it.

"Ballsy kid," Jackson commented.

"Her name is Raven Rayes," said Cece. "She works in mechanics. Sinclair says she's brilliant. She's the youngest mechanic to pass the Zero-G course in fifty-two years." Part of Cece's job was monitoring aptitude and IQ tests that were required in the school – it was part of her job to know who had the greatest potential to be an asset to their society.

"She remind you of anyone?" said Abby. She and Cece both smiled; Raven Rayes seemed like someone Emily and Clarke would get along with.

* * *

**Author's Note: **The lyrics in this chapter are from _Family Portrait_ by P!nk

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**Responding to a review**

Annabelles-Snowbell chapter 3 . Mar 28

i know coming up with original names is difficult but with the amount of names from percy Jackson in this fic it could be a crossover. if you are going to use characters from pjo I would suggest putting this in the crossover category. don't get me wrong the story itself is amazing but keeping track of OC'S which have names from another series makes it very difficult to keep up with the story line and not get confuised as to why some people are out of character.

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My response:

This story is not in the crossover category because I did not intend it to be a crossover. In the novel called The 100 that the show is based off of, there is a character named Thalia who is friends with Clarke. I got the idea originally from that, and I used the description of Thalia Grace from Percy Jackson because is fit in with the character that i created in my mind, and one I pictured her the character Annabeth fell into place because i liked how that character in the percy jackson movies was both tough and bubbly and it fit with the character I wanted. Also the actress Alexandra Daddario reminds me of Marie Avgeropoulos who plays Octavia. I pictured those two characters before I choose the names for them. As for the others, yes I got some of the names from Percy Jackson but they are not the same characters as the ones in that series so don't think of them as the same people. I am building new personalities, backgrounds and story lines for them. I used those names just because I liked them. If you want to get a clear picture of some of my original characters please look at my story "The 100 Character Profiles". And leave a review for that please.  
Thank you for the review. Hope you enjoy how the story goes. What do you think of the changes? Many of the stories I've seen have the OC's falling in love with Bellamy; what do you think of someone challenging Bellamy's leadership?


	16. The Hunters And The Hunted

Author's note: A changed one or two of the minor characters, what they were doing in chapter 14, so you might want to look back.

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* * *

Chapter 16 - Hunters And The Hunted

Emily and Annabeth had successfully led their hunting party back to the small clearing were they first saw the deer and the group was spread out looking for any sign of which direction it went in.

"We should split up to cover more ground," said Annabeth. "Two of us check the woods on the left looking for prints; the others take the area on the right."

"Sounds good," said Percy.

"Who the hell put you in charge Chase?" Clarisse asked.

"Why did you come along if you're just going to argue everything," Annabeth said hotly.

"Because I know that if you want something done right-"

"Do it yourself?" Annabeth finished for her. "Yeah, my father used to say the same thing. Right before he would send me to go trade in my rations for his moonshine."

Clarisse studied Annabeth. With her over bubbly smiles and annoyingly happy chatter, she looked to Clarisse like someone who had never even been in a bad mood before, the type that had thing given to her. But maybe that wasn't the case. At the moment, Annabeth's cheerful smile was replaced with a hardness in her eyes that put Clarisse's own inner armour to shame. There was more to her than meets the eye.

"You two want to keep it down," said Emily. She was looking away from the group, not studying the ground for prints but looking up into the trees.

"What? Did you hear something?" Alby asked coming to her side and looking up as well.

"No, I just want them to be quiet," Emily said sounding annoyed.

Emily turned away from him and went over to study the ground in the direction she remembered the deer running in yesterday. Alby looked at her, then went back to studying the trees, turning in a slow circle to see all around them, not entirely sure what he was looking for.

"If you're thinking about the grounders, don't waste your time," said Emily, her back to him. "Those people know these woods; they know how to stay hidden."

"She's right," said Annabeth. "At the river we didn't see them before or after they attacked. All we saw was that spear hitting Jasper."

"So you're saying that we're sitting ducks if they decide to take us out too?" said Percy.

"We're saying that if there are grounders around, we most likely won't see them until they want to be seen," said Emily, inspecting the ground in front of her.

What she didn't tell the others is that she had an uneasy feeling prickling at the back of her neck. She recognized that feeling as the same one she got on the Ark when after she passed people would whisper 'that's Vice Chancellor Kane's daughter'. It was the reason why she had always had to be perfectly behaved; always watching what she did or said… it was the feeling that she was being watched. She didn't see the point in scaring the others though. If it was grounders, there was nothing they could do about it besides hope that the grounders left them alone. She discreetly palmed one of her knives to keep ready just in case. Emily crouched down to brush the leaf litter out of the way.

"Just keep quiet, or you'll scare off all the game before we even have a chance to hunt," Emily said straitening up. She'd found tracks.

**XXXXX**

Thalia didn't know why old Earth people had bothered doing drugs. What was the point of shooting garbage into your veins when walking through the forest could give you the same effect? What she said to Clarke earlier was true; Thalia felt better than she had in years, not just because of the meds Dr. Griffin had given her, but because of their surroundings. All of the new sensations after years in the Skybox – the bright colours, the sound of birds in the trees, the feel of the sweet smelling breeze that kept changing from warm to cool – It was like being high on life. It was amazing how much everything changed throughout the day. The Ark had the same carefully controlled climate and lighting day in and day out, always the same background. Down here, in the morning everything felt crisp and refreshed, even the air, yet as it moved into afternoon the light mellowed and the tone and hues of the colours changed, some getting sharper while others softened.

They had been moving for hours and the sun had gotten hotter overhead, even with the tree cover, as the day progressed. They had taken off their jackets a while back and Thalia had hers tied around her waist. She was walking ahead of Clarke and Finn, listening to their conversation behind her.

"I've been thinking about Mount Weather," Finn was saying. "How come they didn't attack until after Jasper crossed the river? I mean it's not like we were being quiet and they didn't know we were there."

Thalia had been thinking about the same thing after she heard the whole story about what happened at the river. She had already come to a conclusion, which is what led her to asking Annabeth to try hunting.

"They were waiting for you to cross," she said over her shoulder. "The river's a boundary." Finn and Clarke stopped walking while Thalia went on. She thought she heard something up ahead.

"Which means that Mount Weather's off limits," said Finn.

"How are we gonna get those supplies?" asked Clarke worriedly. "And what are we gonna do for food?!"

"Hope that the hunting party has some luck out there," Finn said helpfully.

"It looks like water's not going to be a problem," Thalia called back to them.

Clarke and Finn moved through the trees towards her and caught up to Thalia standing near the edge of a stream. A gentle waterfall flowed down into a shallow pool before continuing on downhill. It was shallow enough to wade across if they had to, but they could also use the rocks jutting out from the water to get to the other side.

"Wow," said Clarke.

"It looks clean enough. Too small for one of those river snakes, but there might be fish further down. And it's less than half a day from camp," Thalia said, analyzing the location. "We can work with this."

Clarke went to the edge of the stream and set down her pack to refill her canteen, while Finn went right into the water were it was waist deep and splashed the water over his face and hair, laughing. He turned to Clarke smiling and splashed water at her. Clarke wiped the water from her face irritably and turned to Finn, not at all amused.

"Come on Finn. We don't have time for this."

"Clarke, we've been hiking for hours," Finn said still smiling. "We need to take a break."

"I'll take a break when we find Jasper," she said impatiently. "Come on."

Finn nodded and came to the edge of the water. He held out his hand for Clarke to help him up, but when she took it he smiled mischievously. Clarke realized what he was going to do a second before he did it.

"No, no Finn don't…!" she said just as he pulled her forward into the pool. Clarke gasped against the cold water as she went in up to her shoulders.

"Damn it, Finn!" she said hitting at him. Feeling the cool water against her skin, hot and sweaty from hiking since yesterday, Clarke suddenly realized how good the water felt, and how much she really did need a break. "Oh wow. Ok, maybe just a minute."

"Yeah," Finn said laughing softly.

Thalia was standing on one of the rocks near the middle of the stream. Further down from the pool and the rocks, the stream looked like it got deeper. Watching the water rushing by just beneath her feet Thalia felt a slight tremor in her hands and a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same uneasy feeling she experienced when looking down from a high place. _Great_, she thought, _something new to deal with_. Thalia took a deep breath to steadying herself just as she did with heights. _Don't ever feel scared_, she told herself just as she'd been told many times when she was younger.

"Thalia, come on, you have to try this," Clarke said from the pool.

"I think I'll pass," Thalia called back without looking at Clarke. She continued across the stream using the rocks to get across, and keeping her feet dry.

Clarke scooped up the water with her hands and splashed it onto her face washing off some of the dirt and grim from hiking through the woods for two days straight, loving how refreshing it felt. She looked up to see Finn watching her.

"I think I know why you're so hell bent on finding Jasper," he said, "Why you're always taking care of everyone else."

Clarke chuckled. "Now you sound like my mother," she said. "Go on. This should be good, the delinquent psychiatrist."

Finn hesitated before saying, "You couldn't save your father." Clarke lost her smile and looked away. That was not something she wanted to be reminded of.

"Hey," Thalia called out to them. She was across the stream now, out of sight but not too far away. "When you two are done, you might want to come and see this."

Clarke and Finn went to pick up their packs which they had left on the bank of the stream and then waded across to find Thalia. They found her crouched next to a flat-topped boulder that had blood splattered on it. Clarke stared at the blood. It wasn't enough for someone to die from, but whoever had left it was definitely in trouble. Thalia pulled out something that was almost hidden on the ground next to the boulder, stood up and handed it to Clarke: a pair of goggles.

"Jasper, he was here!" said Clarke. "We should get the others."

Finn spotted more blood on the ground, leading off into the woods. He bent down to touch it and found that it was still wet. "We're close," he said.

"Which means that _they_ might be too," Thalia added ominously.

**XXXXX**

Guardsman Luke Castellan walked down a corridor in Go-Sci Station, tiredly running a hand through his hair. He was finally off duty for the day. He and every other guardsman had been searching all of the 12 stations of the Ark for the guy who'd shot the Chancellor. When Luke had first seen the profile of who they were hunting, he was surprised to realize that he recognized him. Bellamy Blake had been in the same unit as him for guardsman training before Blake got kicked out when his younger sister was arrested. They hadn't been friends exactly, but they'd both come from Factory Station and recognized each other in passing. They, and a few other guys in their unit, had even had drinks a few times when they were off duty.

It was believed that Blake had somehow stowed away on the drop ship carrying the prisoners bound for Earth, his motive being to be with his sister, but a search had been ordered all the same. On top of that, there had been witnesses who saw the drop ship launch yesterday, and today was supposed to be a prisoner visiting day. People were being denied visitation to their friends and children who they believed were still in lock-up. People were going to start figuring things out soon, putting the pieces together, and they would find the truth. Guards were bracing for protests, riots or worse.

Luke stopped and leaned against the wall. He was near the Earth Monitoring Control Room and he was wondering if he could get away with going in without authorization if he came up with a reasonable excuse for being there. He just wanted to sneak a peek at the board showing the prisoners who'd been sent down to Earth. This area was only open to authorized personnel. As a guardsman he could be on this deck, but not in the control room unless ordered. If he was caught…that would be trouble. The council was keeping their secrets very close and seeming too curious could land him in a cell, or an airlock chamber.

Luke looked up and down the hall – no one was around at the moment – and pulled out the chain he wore around his neck hidden under his uniform. At the end of the chain was a locket that opened into three slots for pictures.

It wasn't his, and only one of the pictures mattered to him. The picture in the third slot had been taken a long time ago, about nine years, and the three children smiling in it were now gown. He was one of them. And the other two…he had to at least know if they were still alive.

Resolving to take the chance, Luke pushed off from the wall heading for the control room. It should be mostly empty at this time with people preparing for the council meeting set to take place in about an hour, and he figured that if he acted like he didn't have anything to hide, then nobody would look too closely. That philosophy had served him pretty well over the years.

Approaching the control room, Luke stopped when he thought he heard something. He looked around, but no one was there. Then he heard the noise again. He walked over to the wall and pressed his ear to it. Something, someone was moving in there. His training as a guard kicked in; it was his job to investigate anything suspicious. There had been times when he'd overlooked suspicious behaviour, when it was convenient for him, but this was not one of those times. Luke turned and went back down the hall to where he'd seen an access hatch that was used by maintenance personnel and mechanics.

Luke got the hatch open and slipped inside. Light was dim inside the narrow corridor but he moved forward, careful not to disturb any of the cables or equipment that ran through the walls serving some purpose that he didn't know. This maintenance shaft ran alongside the control room and he could hear voices up ahead – voices that he recognized.

"Abby, we have to stop. The council vote is in fifty-two minutes."

"Then we have fifty minutes. Anything from engineering?"

It sounded like Councilor Griffin and her assistant, Dr. Jackson. Luke stopped and listened for a moment and heard that they were talking about the wristbands that the prisoners were wearing, about trying to send a signal down to them.

"Nothing good," said Dr. Jackson. "According to Sinclair, even if we send a signal down, the wristbands weren't designed to receive, so the kids won't even hear it."

"There has to be something we missed," said Dr. Griffin sounding distressed, "Something we haven't thought of."

Hearing a gasp up ahead, Luke realized that he wasn't the only one listening in. Peering up ahead he saw a girl in a thin beam of light coming through a grate in the wall. She was younger than him, with a light brown complexion and brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was spying on Councilor Griffin. Whoever this girl was she was definitely not supposed to be there and apprehending her would give him an excuse to get into the control room. Luke moved forward and the girl heard him coming. She looked over her shoulder at him, and seeing the guard's uniform she tried to run, started climbing a ladder behind her that led up to the next level. Luke reached her and grabbed the back of her red jacket, pulling her back down.

"Not so fast," he said.

"What was that?" they heard Dr. Jackson saying in the next room through the grate.

Light spilled in on them as Dr. Griffin opened the grate. Luke got the girl's arms pinned behind her and pulled her out into the control room.

"What's going on here?' Dr. Griffin asked.

"Get your hands off me!" the girl exclaimed.

"Calm down Raven," said Dr. Griffin. Apparently she knew this girl. "Guardsman Castellan is it?" she asked Luke. "What happened?"

"Councilor Griffin," Luke said respectfully, "I found this girl sneaking through the maintenance shafts. Do you know her?"

"Yes I do," Dr. Griffin said sounding tired. "Get her out of here."

"Yes ma'am," said Luke. As Dr. Griffin turned away, Luke looked past her to the prisoner board. His eyes were immediately drawn to the ID picture of a girl with short dark hair and bright blue eyes. He didn't know what all the information on the board meant but the fact that her tile was still lit meant that she was still alive – Thalia.

As Luke started marching Raven towards the door, she struggled and tried to pull away from him. "They're not dying," she called back to Dr. Griffin.

"Wait," Dr. Griffin said turning back to them. "Let her go." Luke let her go and she immediately stepped away, putting some distance between them. "What do you mean?" Dr. Griffin asked Raven.

"All of that's being sent from the ground?" Raven asked, pointing to the prisoner board.

Dr. Griffin considered her for a moment, and then picked up an inactive wristband from the table and handed it to her, "Transmitted by these."

While Raven examined the wristband, Luke looked again at the prisoner board. There were several dark tiles but he didn't stop to count them, instead looking for the other face, grown up now, from the picture in the locket. Luke kept his face neutral, but felt a warm relief when he found her, knowing that both Annabeth and Thalia were still alive.

Raven was turning the wristband over in her hand examining how it opened and closed. She smiled, as if the answer was simple. "They're taking them off," she said, tossing the wristband back to Dr. Griffin.

"What?" Dr. Jackson asked incredulously. "Why would they do something so reckless?"

Luke thought that the answer to that one was obvious, "Because you told them not to."

**XXXXX**

After gathering the others, Finn led the search party from the spot by the stream where they found Jasper's goggles, following the faint trail left by the grounders carrying him. Clarke was following closely behind Finn as he examined the path. The grounders could move through the woods barley leaving a trace, but Finn seemed sure that they were going in the right direction.

Bellamy and Thalia were at the back of the group. Bellamy looked across at Thalia and saw that while she was staying alert, continually scanning the trees around them for signs of danger, she was doing it with a smile. Thalia glanced at him and caught him watching her.

"You're looking at me like you want to ask me something," she said.

"We're tracking down people who could possibly kill us all, and yet you've been grinning for the last hour," said Bellamy. "Care to tell me why?"

Thalia hadn't even realized that she was smiling, but as Bellamy brought it up she realized why she was. "I've been locked in a box for half my life," she said with a shrug. "It's nice to be out. And it's a beautiful day, don't you think?"

Bellamy chuckled. It sounded like the kind of perspective Octavia would take. He also thought that now was as good a time as any to try to learn more about Thalia.

"What were you in for?" he asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she said in a teasing voice. Thalia didn't really care who knew why she was arrested, but for now, the less Bellamy _thought_ he knew about her the better.

"So you came out here hiking through the woods all day, to enjoy the view?" Bellamy asked sarcastically.

"I'm out here for a friend," Thalia said seriously.

"Jasper's probably dead by now anyway."

"And I suppose you don't care whether or not one of our own people is dead or alive" She didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "I wasn't talking about Jasper. I'm here for Clarke."

Bellamy looked ahead to where Clarke was walking beside Finn, and then looked back to Thalia, "Didn't realize you and the Princess were so close."

"Clarke's a good friend to have on your side," said Thalia. "She would be out here looking even if _you_ were the one who was missing. Can you say that for any of your new friends?" she asked, nodding towards Murphy who was walking off to the side in front of them.

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy asked belligerently.

"We don't," said Bellamy. "Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."

"It's called cutting sign," Wells explained, "Fourth year Earth Skills, he's good."

"You want to keep it down or should I paint targets on your backs?" Finn bit at them.

He kept his focus on the ground, scanning for clues that they were, in fact, heading on the right path. He noticed a broken branch on a shrub, and when his eyes moved to the ground, he saw it – drops of blood on the stones beneath. Clarke and Finn both bent down to examine the evidence. Finn showed her how the way the branch was bent indicated which direction someone had gone in. And whoever it was had passed by fairly recently too – the sap from the broken branch was still sticky. Clarke smiled at him.

"See, with Finn around you're invisible," Bellamy taunted Wells.

Clarke and Finn both shot to their feet, and they all stiffened as a loud groan echoed through the trees up ahead.

"What the hell was that?" said Murphy.

Clarke looked back at Bellamy and Thalia. "Now might be a good time to take out those guns."

She moved determinedly forward towards the haunting sound and the others followed. The trail they were following led to a clearing that was half covered in tall grass. In the middle of the clearing, they saw what the moaning was coming from – Jasper.

"Oh my God," Clarke gasped, "Jasper!"

Jasper was tied up in a tree in the middle of the clearing with his hands bound to a branch over his head. It looked like he was unconscious – he didn't respond to Clarke calling his name – but that didn't stop another pained moan from escaping him. And what was even more alarming than Jaspers condition was what surrounded him. It looked like the grounders had made their injured friend the center piece of some macabre set up. There were spikes jutting up from the ground surrounding the tree – Jasper had been staked out to draw something in.

"What the hell is this?" Bellamy asked no one in particular. He tucked the gun back into his waistband as he moved forward along with Clarke.

Thalia stopped short. "It's a trap!"

Her warning came a second too late. Clarke heard Thalia's words but didn't stop in time before the ground crumbled beneath her and she felt herself falling. At the last second she was saved by a hand around her wrist. Below her, a ten foot drop into a spike filled pit; above her was Bellamy. He had a hand around her right wrist while Clarke's left hand clutched the edge of the pit. She couldn't pull herself up on her own. Bellamy's eyes flickered from Clarke's face, to the wristband on her arm, to the spikes beneath her.

"Clarke!" she heard voices shouting her name. "Pull her up! Pull her up!"

The other boys all rushed forward and grabbed onto Bellamy, pulling him back and pulling Clarke up over the edge. She collapsed on the ground with her heart going a mile a minute. A near brush with death could leave a person a little disoriented and she wasn't sure who was asking if she was Ok, until Thalia shook her shoulder.

"You alright?" Thalia asked.

Clarke nodded. "Yeah," she gasped. "I'm fine."

Wells and Finn both sighed in relief. As they all got back to their feet, Bellamy glanced at Thalia and saw that she was watching him with her eyes narrowed. He looked away quickly, not meeting her eyes – but not before he saw the accusation in her eyes. Clarke either didn't notice or chose to disregard Bellamy's moment of indecision, his hesitation to save her life. She was for more preoccupied with Jasper.

"We need to get him down," she said.

"I'll climb up and cut the vines," said Finn.

"Yeah, I'm with you," Wells volunteered.

"No, you stay with Clarke," said Thalia. "And watch him," she added, nodding to Bellamy. To Murphy she said, "You, let's go."

She followed Finn as he started climbing, the low branches and knots on the trunk making it easy. Bellamy nodded for Murphy to do what she said – the sooner they got Jasper down, the sooner they could get the hell out of here.

"There's a poultice on his wound," Clarke said, spotting the green pulp on Jasper's chest where the spear had stuck him.

"Medicine?" asked Wells. "Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing," Bellamy suggested.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us," Thalia said from beside Jasper. She pulled herself up a few more branches to reach the branch where his hands were bound and pulled out her knife to cut him loose. "You've got him?" she asked Murphy and Finn.

"Yeah, we got him," said Murphy.

Thalia cut through the vine binding Jasper's wrists to the tree and he slipped down a few inches before the boys got a good hold on him. Finn kept him propped up while Murphy started cutting through the rest of the vines.

"Careful Murphy," said Finn, holding Jasper in place.

An inhuman growl came to them through the trees, sending a cold shiver down their spines as they all looked around for the source.

"What the hell was _that_?" Murphy asked, fear creeping into his voice.

"Grounders?" Bellamy said uncertainly.

The sound came again – a low vibrating growl that triggered a primal, instinctive sense of danger in all of them.

"Not grounders," said Thalia.

It was closer this time. The turned towards it and saw a large, dark shape slinking out of the cover of the trees. The analytical part of Clarke's mind searched for the word to put with this picture. It was some kind of big cat; a tiger maybe? No, tigers had stripes and this thing was jet black – a panther. The animal was crouched low to the ground and half hidden by shadows, but as it shot forward and charged at them, they saw the share size and speed of it.

"Bellamy, gun!" Clarke exclaimed.

Bellamy reached for his gun but came up empty. The gun was gone! Suddenly a shot rang out. He looked to Wells who was firing at the panther with the gun that he'd lifted from Bellamy when they'd pulled Clarke out of the trap, one shot catching it in the hip. The big cat growled as it stumbled from the impact of the bullet and changed course. It ran into the tall grass ringing the edge of the clearing.

Wells grabbed Clarke's arm and pulled her behind him, making sure he stayed between her and the panther. But it had suddenly gone quiet. Not a growl or a stirring in the grass. Where was it?! With a vicious roar, the panther leapt from the grass. Bellamy had a second to see a flash of gleaming white claws and teeth coming at him, and raised his arm defensively as if to block it as the panther leapt at him.

BANG!

The animal was knocked down in mid-jump as a final shot rang out, landing heavily on the ground right in front of Bellamy. The gun clicked on empty as Wells kept pulling the trigger before dropping the now useless weapon to the ground. The panther's limbs twitched and its body shuddered before it fell into the stillness of death. They all looked at it in shock. Like the two-headed deer or the giant snake that they saw the day before, the panther was a mutation. Its dark course fur ran over its upper body before blending into the rough black scales with a slightly greenish tint that covered its flanks.

"That was cutting it close," said Thalia beside Bellamy. He started at the sound of her voice. Focused on the panther, he hadn't even noticed her coming out of the tree. She looked down at the dead animal, and then back to him. "And to think, that could have been you."

She looked up to Finn and Murphy, still in the tree with Jasper. "You two want to finish what you're doing?" she said. They shook themselves and got back to work getting him down.

Bellamy looked at Wells', who'd just saved him for being mauled to death by a wild animal. And he wasn't the only one – Clarke, after ignoring him all day, she had eyes on Wells now too.

"Now she sees you," said Bellamy.

Thalia walked around Bellamy to the panther's back and crouched down to get a better look at it. When she reached out a hand to see what it felt like she was surprised to find that its glossy black fur was a lot softer than it looked. It was beautiful really, a creature that was all speed and strength, sleek and powerful. And all of that, wiped away by a bullet to the head. Ah well. Such was life – kill or be killed; you were either the hunter, or the hunted.

**XXXXX**

Annabeth raised her bow with the arrow already fitted to it, and heard Alby blow out a slow breath to steady himself as he did the same. Their target was just past the shrubs that they hid behind. The others had moved into place, circling around, staying downwind of the deer as it chewed contentedly on a root. They were lucky – they'd found the deer's tracks by a shallow stream and followed the prints that had dried in the mud from last night's rain. They'd tracked it a long way from where they started – mostly Emily, who apparently had been top of her class in Earth Skills, had tracked it. If they failed now, then they would have to go back empty handed – they had a long way to go to get home before dark.

There was a crackle in the far bushes, and Annabeth saw the deer lift its head and sniff the air, looking in the direction of the noise, away from her and Alby. She nodded a quick signal and they let their arrows fly.

The arrows thudded into the deer's hide and the animal jumped in pain and fright and tried to run. The frantic animal chose the wrong direction; as it bound away with two arrows sticking out of its flank, it did not get far. Clarisse's spear came flying out of the trees, sinking into its chest as it ran almost directly towards her hiding place. The deer fell to the ground as the hunters converged on it. Coming close, they saw that it was still twitching, bleating softly.

"It's still alive," said Clarisse taking a step back from it. The deer's blood was seeping into the grass around it and its pathetic bleating was pitiful to hear.

"Put it out of its misery," Alby said gently.

Clarisse stood frozen, not making any move. The deer's dark eyes seemed to be locked on her in accusation, all of its pain and fear shining through. Annabeth drew another arrow to end it herself when a knife flashed passed her and struck deep into the deer's eye, into its brain, killing it. Annabeth looked at Emily as she walked up casually, torn between irritation that Emily's knife had come so close to hitting her, and being impressed by her aim. Emily knelt down next to the deer and ran her hand over the downy soft fur of the deer's neck in a surprisingly tender gesture.

"We're not going to starve," she said evenly. Then she pulled Clarisse's spear out of the deer's chest, and as she did its head flopped to the side revealing the half formed second head.

"You sure it's safe to eat?" Percy asked uncertainly.

"It's safe," Emily assured them. "Radiation may have mutated the genetic material generations ago, but there shouldn't be any trace of it now."

She held the spear up to Clarisse. She snatched it from her hand. "Let's just...get this thing back to camp...get out of these damn woods."

Her words lacked their usual bite, and Annabeth noticed the slight tremor in her hands. So did Emily.

"What's the matter, you scared of a little blood?" Emily said as she pulled her knife from the deer's eye and wiped the blood off on the grass. "Better get over that." She looked up at Clarisse while bouncing the knife in her hand. "We still need to cut this thing up to eat it."

"We had to kill the thing," Alby stepped in. "Someone else can cut it up once we get it back to camp. Let's get moving." The boys went off to some sturdy branches that they could tie the deer to, to carry it back. Clarisse was still looking at the deer.

"Hey," Annabeth said drawing her attention. She knew that Clarisse wouldn't care much for any sentimental or comforting words, so she simple said, "That was a good throw."

Clarisse nodded, and when the boys came back she helped them lash the deer's legs around the branches that they'd found. Emily watched them while they worked. She usually had a pretty good sense about people, and what she'd picked up on throughout the day was that despite Annabeth's outward appearance of being a ray of sunshine, she had an inner core that was far more hardened that Clarisse's outer shell, and Emily wondered exactly what had made her that way. Clarisse, for all her tough girl act, felt a sense of guilt for killing something so gentle and innocent.

As for Emily, she didn't feel much of anything – It just was what it was. When they were ready to go, Alby and Percy hoisted the deer up between them, suspended from the branches it was tied to, and Emily led the way back to camp. Walking just behind her, Annabeth saw that she was still turning the knife over in her hand.

* * *

Author's note: Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story and the characters :)


	17. The Feeding Of The 100

Chapter 17 - The Feeding Of The 100

The 100's landing site was actually starting to look a bit like a camp. It was getting late in the day; shadows cast in the light of the setting sun stretched across the ground. Some people lounged in the seats from the ship that had been placed around campfires while many others were still working around the drop ship. Shrubs and debris had been cleared out, tents were being set, a few piles of fire wood had been chopped, and logs were put in place for the beginnings of building a wall. Walls alone wouldn't keep out whatever was out there in the woods though; they would also need weapons. What weapons they'd found in the drop ship were not enough to go around, so some of the workers in camp had begun fashioning more weapon from wood and materials from the ship.

Octavia sat on the stump of one of the trees that had been cut down, sharpening a length of wood into a stake with a knife. They would line the wall with stakes once it was built. She ran a hand over her forehead and looked out to the woods. The light had dimmed as the sun began to sink behind the mountains. It would be dark soon, and Bellamy and the others were not back yet. She hoped that they were all okay, and that they'd found Jasper and were on their way back.

Her musing was interrupted as Atom walked up to her and held out a cup with clear water in it. She looked at him in surprise and took it. He half smiled at her, and then walked back to where he was stacking logs with a few other guys. Octavia drank her water and watched him while he worked, smiling to herself. His unexpected thoughtfulness was…sweet.

She was distracted from watching the boys at work by a light at the corner of her eye. She turned and gasped at the tiny iridescent creature that had perched on the log next to her. It was some kind of insect with a tiny body and disproportionately large, delicate wings. And its wings were glowing; it looked like it was surrounded by an orb of blue and purple light. _Butterfly,_ the word fluttered through Octavia's mind as she stared at it with wide eyes. She leaned down so that she was at eye level with it.

"Hello, beautiful," she said. She slowly reached out a hand as if to touch it. The butterfly lifted off the log and started fluttering towards the trees. Octavia laughed playfully as she got up to follow it, "Hey, where are you going?"

Atom set down another load of fire wood onto a growing pile and turned to check on Octavia, expecting her to still be sitting where he left her. She wasn't there. Atom looked around quickly searching for her, but she was nowhere in sight. Where the hell was she? Bellamy would kill him if he lost his sister. He jogged over to where she'd been sitting, where she'd left the knife she was using, and then looked into the woods. She wouldn't have gone off on her own would she? Yeah, she probably would.

Octavia followed the butterfly as it fluttered on ahead of her giggling as she went, heedless of the fact that it was leading her further away from camp. After a while it lifted up over head and was met by another butterfly with softly glowing wings…And another one…And hundreds more. Octavia gazed around in childlike wonder as she looked up, turning in a slow circle to take it all in. Butterflies covered the trunks of the trees that surrounded her, a swarm of luminescent bluish purple fluttering wings. The trees were ablaze with the glowing lights like they had been decorated for a party.

Octavia laughed in joy as the luminous butterflies fluttered around her, some of them landing on her outstretched arms. She moved carefully so as not to startle them, and turned coming face to face with Atom, who had followed the sound of her carefree laughter.

.

_When we first came here, we were cold and we were clear_

_With no colours in our skin, 'Til we let the spectrum in_

_._

He was staring at her, utterly transfixed by this strange and beautiful sight. The soft glow of the butterflies lit up her face and reflected in her eyes. Her face showed a look of pure happiness. The butterflies perched on her arms took off as he stepped closer to her.

Following an impulse, he leaned in and kissed her. He pulled back carefully suddenly nervous of how she would react. She looked as surprised as he was. Atom started to turn away when Octavia reached for him and pulled him into a deeper kiss. Her hands went around his neck while his hand went to her waist as they kissed and held each other while butterflies danced around them. As Atoms arms circled her waist and pulled her closer, Octavia tenses and pushed back against his shoulders, slightly breathless. She looked at him nervously. For all her flirting and bold words, that was her first kiss, her first…well, anything. Atom could see that she was nervous, and unsure. He didn't try to push her. He held her hand and smiled at her softly.

.

_Say my name, and every colour illuminates_

_We are shining, and we will never be afraid again_

_._

"It's okay," he said to her gently. He spoke softly so as not to disrupt the tranquility of this moment, this place. "We've got nothing but time."

Octavia smiled shyly. She felt flushed and warm all over as he held her hands. As Atom stepped closer she met him half-way, and they kissed again, slowly and gently, neither one of them wanting that moment to end. In the glow of the butterfly field it felt like they had stepped into a fantasy, cut off from all their work and worries. They lost all sense of time and didn't know how long they'd been there when they heard noise form camp and they broke apart. Here in this glowing field, it was easy to forget everything else.

They both looked in the direction of camp, though sight of it was closed off by the trees that encircled the butterfly field. They were both reluctant to leave, but they needed to know if something was happening. It could be that Bellamy and the others were back.

Atom and Octavia smiled at each other again before turning and walking back towards camp. They would have time…later.

XX

Glass was lounging on the ramp of the drop ship with a cup of tea warming her hands. Tandoori and Monty had found some leaves that they said were mint and boiled them into a tea that had helped to sooth quite a few empty stomached. Still, they all needed real food, and soon. The berries had been nice, tart but sweet, but they were almost gone now. Glass was sharing her last handful of the treats with Antonia.

After they'd returned from seeing the songbirds in the berry grove she'd managed to persuade Antonia not to go straight back to work in the ship. The young technician sat across from her now, leaning against the door frame with her legs stretched out. Her messy braid had been redone. Glass had shown her how to properly braid her hair in a style that wouldn't unravel and kept it out of her face. Antonia, always thinking practically, said that was useful because it would help her concentrate better. Glass just thought the style looked nice on her. When she'd said as much Antonia had just looked at her blankly, like she had no idea what she looked like.

Glass placed her hands behind her and leaned back, looking up to the sky as the last rays of the setting sun painted the clouds. Staring up at the sky no longer made her dizzy. There was so much beauty in the simple forms of the clouds overhead.

"I think that one kind of looks like a rabbit," she said peacefully, pointing at a cloud. "Are they supposed to have long tails?"

"Rabbits have short tails, and long ears," said Tandoori. "At least they do in books from a hundred years ago."

"That one kind of looks like a cruiser," said Monty. When the others looked at him blankly he added, "A space pod," still nothing, "From the video game. Anyone?" They shook their heads.

"You are such a nerd," said Antonia.

"Well what about you Antonia?" said Monty. "What do you see?"

Antonia glanced around at them, "What's there to see? They're just condensed forms of atmospheric moisture."

"How poetic," Tandoori commented. Monty chuckled.

Antonia looked up, trying to see what they were seeing, but she just didn't. She'd worked with computers, with facts and figures, all her life; she'd never been the type to play made up games with the other kids. On the Ark everything had its place and served a purpose and nothing was wasted. Resources, materials, tools, _time_; nothing could afford to be wasted.

Glass sighed. She thought that Antonia needed to learn to have some fun and maybe see a few things differently. They were not on the Ark anymore. That thought brought back to mind somethings that she'd been trying not to think about all day, and she shivered. Her worry about her friends, the dangers of the ground that they did not yet know; what she thought she saw yesterday…

"Hey, they're back!" someone shouted, drawing them all out of their reverie.

Glass shot straight up, her eyes flashing to the trees thinking that her imagined threats had suddenly revealed themselves. A crowd was gathering by the edge of the clearing as something approached. Glass breathed a sigh of relief when she saw not unknown monsters, but Clarke leading the way into camp. Tandoori noticed her sudden tension though.

"You okay?" Tandoori asked. "You looked ready to jump out of your skin a second ago."

Glass just shook her head and got up. Clarke headed straight for the drop ship followed by Wells and Finn carrying Jasper between them. Thalia came after them. "Tandy," she called out to Tandoori, who jumped off the ramp to meet her.

Monty, who'd raced forward on seeing Jasper, stared at his friend in shock. "Is he…?" he asked hesitantly.

"He's alive," Clarke assured him. "Get him inside," she instructed Wells and Finn.

"How can I help? Glass asked her.

"I need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandage," said Clarke.

Bellamy and Murphy stumbled into camp, struggling with the load they lugged wrapped up in a tarp. Coming into the firelight, they set it down heavily on the ground and unwrapped it. People gasped at seeing the dead panther that they'd carried back with them.

"What is that thing?"

"Are there more?"

"How'd they kill it?"

Octavia rushed forward to meet her brother. Standing proudly in front of the crowd, Bellamy shouted, "Who's hungry?"

Cheers went up around camp. Bellamy put an arm around his sister as people called out his name and congratulated him. He didn't notice Atom standing off to the side with his eyes on Octavia.

"Bellamy! Yeah!"

"Whoa! Alright!"

"Good job man!"

Hearing the cheers Clarke looked back at the scene from the door of the ship. She shook her head as Bellamy soaked in the praise that he hadn't earned – all he'd done today was not get eaten, and that was because of Wells. She had way bigger concerns than him right now; she turned away and walked into the ship to take care of Jasper.

Thalia didn't follow Clarke into the ship, trusting her friend to do all that she could for Jasper, and she didn't pay any attention to Bellamy's grandstanding either. Like Clarke, she had other concerns on her mind. She pulled Tandoori to the side and asked urgently, "Has Annabeth been back?"

"No," Tandoori shook her head, "Haven't seen her or any of the others since they left."

"Damn it," said Thalia. Aside from the light of the camp fires and the moon shining down on them, the clearing was in almost complete darkness now. It was too late to lead out a search. They didn't know this place; they couldn't go wandering through the forest in the dark. Thalia knew very well that Annabeth could handle herself, but grounders, panthers…God only knew what else was out there. She'd sent Annabeth out there; if anything happened to her…

Thalia shook her head. Jumping to conclusions was never her style, and thinking the worst didn't help anyone. She couldn't do anything about Annabeth and the hunting party now, so she'd focus on what she could do.

**XXXXX**

A crowd of hungry kids stood in a jumbled line leading to the bonfire where cuts of panther meat were being roasted on sticks. Stomachs growled and mouths were watering at the unfamiliar yet tantalizing smell of meat cooking. Each person stepped up for their share of the food, but only after they paid the price for it: their wristbands. Murphy and a few other guys stood guard over the food, not letting anyone get near it.

Bellamy stood next to the fire watching as John Mbege pried off Derek's wristband and tossed it aside. Derek smiled, and took one of the cuts of food. He didn't have anyone up on the Ark, and that wristband was a pain anyway. He moved aside and the next person stepped up.

XX

Dax sat in a spot close to one of the campfires. He'd muscled his way to the front of the line for food and now sat eating the roasted pieces of meat, thinking that it was way better than nutrition packs. Some people had gotten into scuffles over food, but he didn't think that anyone would be stupid enough to try to take his. He was on alert just in case; he looked around when he heard someone come up behind him. He sighed when that kid sat down at the edge of the firelight. What was her name again, Boo? No, Bo.

It was cold out, like last night, but she didn't come closer to the fire. Again, she'd been following him around most of the day. She hadn't gotten in his way, but every time he turned around he saw her there. He tried to ignore her like he'd been doing all day, but he could still see her out of the corner of his eye. And he heard when her stomach growled.

Bellamy had put himself in charge down here and was only giving food to the people who took off their wristbands. Dax didn't really care either way, but it looked like the kid did – she still had her wristband on, and didn't have any food. From what Dax had seen of her, she was probably too scared to try getting the food anyway.

Bo sat at the edge of the firelight and pulled her jacket tighter around her. She was a little cold but didn't want to get any closer – older kids had taken all of the spaces by the fire. They were all bigger than her…_everyone_ was bigger than her. She didn't want to draw attention to herself; a lot of the people down here were not nice. Dax had helped her yesterday, but he wasn't very nice either so she tried to stay out of his way. She still stayed close though, it felt safer than being on her own.

Bo's stomach growled again, and she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs trying to make herself smaller.

Dax rolled his eyes. He'd seen this kind of thing before. His mom worked in the care center on the Ark as a care giver to the orphans, and he'd been forced to help her out sometimes. He'd seen little kids who were bullied into giving up their rations and were too scared to do anything about it, so they went hungry. But those kids were not his problem and neither was this one.

He glanced over at Bo again, bundled up in her jacket and curled in on herself – a kitten curled into a tiny ball. Dax groaned, and then he tore off a chunk of meat and held it out to Bo. She crept forward hesitantly to sit next to him, not sure that it wasn't a trick. When he didn't take the food back she happily took it and smiled at him before stuffing most of it into her mouth in her hurry to eat.

"Don't forget to chew," Dax said watching her.

Bo giggled and slowed down, taking the time to enjoy her first meal on Earth next to the warmth of the camp fire with her new friend.

XX

Kayla Shumway stood among those who were not willing to go forward to join the line for food, not if it meant taking off their wristband and losing the only link they had to their families. She looked over at Bellamy Blake with disgust. He called himself a leader? Leaders took care of their people. Forcing desperate kids to either give up their wristbands or starve, it was so wrong in so many ways.

She knew Bellamy Blake form the Ark, and the guy she was looking at now wasn't the one she remembered. He father was a trainer and commanding officer to guardsmen cadets, and Bellamy had been one of his cadets a year ago, until he'd made the mistake of bringing his unregistered little sister to last year's Unity Day party on Factory Station. Kayla had been there when Octavia was arrested. While other kids had been partying, she'd been on duty with the guard, working under her father. She hadn't minded it at the time; when they were both working was often the only quality time she spent time with her father, if you could call it that. With her father, saying she was a good soldier was his way of saying 'I love you'.

When Kayla had known Bellamy on the Ark he'd been a nice guy, a good cadet. Hell, even her father had approved of him, as a cadet anyway. Commander Shumway might not have been so approving if he'd known that his daughter and Bellamy were occasionally seeing each other out of uniform. Since they'd been on the ground though, Kayla and Bellamy had yet to cross paths, which was just fine with her. Seeing who he was now - as a young girl no more than fourteen stepped up in the food line with tears in her eyes, forced to take of her wristband for something to eat - Kayla had nothing to say to him.

"He didn't even shoot it himself," Thalia said, suddenly appearing at her side. "Wells did that." Kayla glanced at her, and then away. Thalia noticed that she was distracted; she followed Kayla's line of sight and saw that she was still looking at Bellamy. "He must be some kind of desperate to go this far."

"What do you mean?" Kayla asked.

"Don't tell me you're buying all that crap about 'Whatever the hell we want'," said Thalia. She shook her head, "There's more to it than that." Thalia remembered what had been said between her and Bellamy the first time they met the night before, how he wouldn't look her in the eye when she asked what he was afraid of. "He doesn't want the Ark coming down because he's scared what will happen when it does."

"You're thinking he did something that would have gotten him arrested, maybe floated?" Kayla considered her words. "That's a big leap. You just met him."

Thalia shrugged, "Reading people is what I do. Then again, you know him, so why don't you tell me."

"How did you know..?" Kayla started to ask. At Thalia's look, she didn't bother. It was Thalia; she knew a lot of things.

"His baby sister likes to talk a lot," said Thalia. Kayla watched as a troubled look came over her face. Octavia had been talking to Annabeth; Annabeth still wasn't here. "Anything on perimeter?"

"Nothing yet," said Kayla. "I've got lookouts posted."

"Alright," said Thalia. She looked towards the bonfire, where more and more kids traded in their wristband so that they wouldn't go hungry again tonight. And then she looked around at the other groups of scared kids who were all tired and hungry, and looking more and more tempted by the sight and smell of the food. "If Annabeth and the others aren't back soon then we take our share of the food." To be clear she added, "By force if necessary."

Kayla nodded, holding back a smile; a leader took care of their people. And a soldier did what they had to do. "Copy that," she said.

Thalia did smile. Even now that they were on the ground with hardly any semblance of authority among them, Kayla was still in the habit of talking like a solider. Thalia watched her as she walked off to spread the word. Kayla wore the twin swords that she'd taken from the weapons crated that morning strapped across her back, and she walked like a soldier. Hell, she was a solider. Good thing too; they needed people like her. As Kayla went to spread the word to those on their side, those who carried weapons and could fight, Thalia was hoping it wouldn't come to a fight.

Then she looked again at Bellamy across the clearing. Confrontation seemed to be his first instinct.

**XXXXX**

One of the boys in the line, fed up with this crap, tried moving to the front of the line to take the food without giving up his wristband. As he reached for one of the sticks with cooked meat skewered on it, Bellamy grabbed his wrist and punched him, knocking him to the ground. His friend tried to come forward to help him, but John Murphy and John Mbege pushed him back.

While Bellamy and his thugs were distracted, their attention on the boy who was scrambling away from them while trying to pull himself off the ground, two small figure crept up from behind and snatched up a few of the cuts of roasted meat. Carmen and Max, both of them thirteen years old, scampered over to where a small group made of the youngest members of The 100 was waiting and began tearing the stolen meat into smaller chunks to share around.

Finn, leaning against the side of the drop ship, smirked as he saw the little thieves slink away from the fire with their prize. He looked over at Clarke as she came out of the drop ship to stand beside him. "How's Jasper?" he asked.

"He's stable for now, but without medication…" Clarke trailed off, noticing the crowd gathered around the fire. "What the hell is going on?"

"Bellamy hitting a new low," said Finn. "He's making them take off their wristbands for food."

"What?" Clarke exclaimed, "No way. I…I won't do it."

"You don't have to," Thalia said from the bottom of the ramp. She nodded for them to follow her, "Come on."

XX

Harper, a blonde girl with braids in her hair, stood in the line of people who were giving up their wristbands for food. Her eyes flickered between the wristband on her arm and the food cooking over the fire; her mind kept going to her mother on the Ark. She didn't want her mom to think she was dead, but she didn't want to starve either. She was so hungry. Roma, the girl ahead of her, stepped forward looking happy to get that thing off her arm. She cheered when they got it loose, and gave Bellamy a flirtatious smile which he returned. And then it was Harper's turn. She walked forward slowly dragging her feet, and reluctantly held out her wrist, but as Mbege was about to pry it off has he'd done with the others, a loud piercing whistle sounded across the clearing where another bonfire had blazed up.

Thalia stood next to the second bonfire, with Annabeth by her side. The other hunting party was back, and they'd brought food! One of the other hunters shouted out, "Meals up over here, free of charge!"

Harper pulled her hand back, her wristband still intact. She smiled and rushed over to the other fire, along with several other people who'd been waiting in line. Eager hand helped the returned hunters prepare the deer that they'd carried in, quickly cutting away strips of meat to put over the fire.

"How do we know when it's ready?"

"When the outside starts to crisp and the inside turns pink."

"How would you know?"

"I think he's right."

There was a mad flurry of activity as people pressed forward to get to the free meal being offered. The smell of the meat was foreign and intoxicating.

"What the hell?" Murphy said, but Bellamy barely heard him.

Bellamy glared across the clearing where Thalia stood with her eyes locked on him. He was ready to go over there with his guys and take back control of the situation. But then Thalia subtly glanced around, and he followed her gaze to where people stood discreetly placed around the second bonfire, on guard with their hands on their weapons, ready for trouble. One of them was Kayla. She stood closest to Thalia, and she had a pair of swords that Bellamy well knew that she knew how to use. And from what he knew, quite a few of the others who were armed were somewhat trained as well.

.

_Lay down your swords, lay down your pistols. Call off your dogs, show no resistance_

_You fall like a guillotine, and kneel before the Queen. You fall like a guillotine, and I will rise_

_._

He looked back to Thalia. This was a power play, and she'd planned ahead. She was watching him now with her guards standing ready, daring him to make a move. But that was exactly what she wanted him to do. She wanted him to try to take away the food that these people needed, because she knew that they would hate him for it. His anger rose when a small smirk played across her face. It rose even higher when people started calling out her name, cheering for her the same way they'd cheered for him when they first saw the panther.

"Thalia! Thalia! Thalia!"

.

_I don't need blue blood running through my veins because_

_Like a Queen, like a Queen, I can make you love me_

_._

Unlike Bellamy, she wasn't inclined to take all the credit. "Hey!" she shouted quieting the crowd down a little. "Let's hear it for our hunters!"

People cheered; they surrounded those who'd been on the hunting party, calling out their names and clapping them on the backs or shoulders, showing their thanks.

"Yeah, Annabeth!"

"Go, Alby!"

"Clarisse!"

Clarisse frowned and looked around uncertainly. She was not used to praise, or positive recognition. "Hey," Alby said in her ear resting a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him and he was smiling. "They're not gonna bite. Smile. Enjoy it while you can." Clarisse smiled hesitantly. Her smile stretching into a grin as the cheering continued, the crowd closing in around her and the other hunters, thanking and congratulating them. Yeah, she enjoyed it.

Thalia looked again at Bellamy. If he started a fight now and lost, then that would give her the opening to take over the whole camp; even if he won, taking away the food and forcing people to pay for it when it had already been offered for free would go against the line of 'Whatever the hell we want' that he'd sold them on. She was pretty sure he wasn't stupid enough to start a fight that was a lose/lose situation for him, but she moved her hand to rest on the gun at her waist just in case. Bellamy saw the move. She didn't draw the gun, but as they stared each other down, the threat was very clear. His gun was out of bullets, hers wasn't; she would use it is she had to.

Last night, when Bellamy had his boys attack Wells, Thalia had threatened him with the gun, but she hadn't intended to use it. This time, if it came to that, she would. When Clarke had fallen into that grounder trap, Bellamy had caught her by reflex, but before the others rushed to help him pull her up…he hesitated. He might not have let her fall, but for a moment there, he considered it. He considered letting Clarke die, _killing_ her. If Thalia had had any doubts before, they were gone now. Bellamy could not be trusted.

Bellamy broke away from their face off first, and turned back to where Murphy and Mbege and his other thugs were still giving food to those who still followed him, those who'd already taken off their wristbands, or believed in what he said about being free from the Ark and that Bellamy could give them that. The camp was divided, literally split in half between the two bonfires with crowd of hungry kids still clamoring around them.

Thalia turned back to her own people. The crows parted to let her pass as she walked towards the fire where the already cooked cuts of meat where being cut into smaller pieces and shared out. People moved off once they got their cut to find a comfortable place to sit and eat.

"Hey," a voice caught her attention. Thalia looked and saw one of the boys giving out the food, Conner, stop a kid who was reaching out to take a piece of the food. The kid's name was Daryl, he was one of the younger ones, maybe fourteen, and he wasn't wearing a wristband. "You're in the wrong place," Conner said to him.

"It's alright," Thalia said coming up to them. "Everybody gets their share," she said. She took one of the skewers and handed it to Daryl.

"Thanks," he said shyly.

Thalia nodded and he scampered off. She'd seen what Bellamy did to that other kid when he tried to take food without handing over his wristband. Bellamy was trying to create a dictatorship. If he wasn't careful, he could end up making enemies out of those who were already following him. Thalia's strategy didn't involve using force, unless it became necessary: give people what they need, and they would give her what she wants. Looking around, she thought that was working out pretty well so far.

**XXXXX**

Octavia certainly thought that things were going well. She sat in Atom's lap with his arms around her, pulling her close as they kissed. They'd found a spot in the shelter of the trees that offered a bit of privacy, where they could still see the light of the campfires. This private alcove of theirs may not hold the splendor of the butterfly field, but Octavia still felt the same magic she felt then. Growing up, she'd loved hearing the myth and fantasy stories that her mother told her. But as she got older every story, ordinary or extraordinary, became nothing more than a fantasy that she could never have, because she could never leave their home. She always had to stay hidden away; life outside those four walls was an unattainable dream that tortured her. But now, here on Earth, she could have things that she'd never thought she would: freedom, fun, friends, a boyfriend.

Until that fantasy came crashing down with one word. "Atom!"

They broke apart when they heard the nearby voice. Seeing Bellamy there, Octavia quickly got up from Atom's lap and they stepped away from each other. Bellamy stopped and stared at them for a moment with a hard look on his face. He didn't say anything to Octavia. To Atom he said, "Come on. We're on first watch."

As Bellamy turned away Atom quickly glanced at Octavia for a moment, and then followed him, hoping Bellamy wasn't too angry. He'd said that nobody was allowed to touch his sister, but Octavia could make her own choice about that couldn't she. Maybe they could just laugh it off, after all they were friends right?

Right.

Yeah, he was in trouble.

* * *

**Author's note:** The lyrics in ths chapter are from _Guillotine_ by Yadi


	18. A Problem For Tomorrow

**Author's note:** Very Sorry that it has been so long since my last update. I am doing internship now and working late most days, so that leaves little time to write. But I will try to update again soon. Pleas leave a comment and let me know what you think of how the story is going.

* * *

Chapter 18 - A Problem For Tomorrow

Oh yeah, he was definitely in trouble.

"Guys, come on," Atom said with a trembling laugh, trying to sound like this was all a joke – Hoping that it was a joke. He was strung up in a tree, his arms tied above his head, far enough from camp that no one heard him fighting to get away when they brought him here. He looked down at the people below him. There was Bellamy, Danny, Murphy and Mbege. "You…you're not just gonna leave me here."

"No, Atom," said Bellamy with a superior smirk on his face. "I won't be disobeyed." Thalia may have taken half the camp, and right now he couldn't do anything about that without causing a full blown riot, but here was something he could control. He turned and led the others away, back to camp, taking the light of the torches that they carried with them.

"Guys! Bellamy!" Atom shouted after them as the light faded and darkness closed in around him, "Guys!"

But they were already gone.

"BELLAMY!"

**XXXXX**

Antonia Sinclair stood at the door of the drop ship watching the fire. Ancient cultures had seen fire as a type of magic, but it was simply a chain reaction caused when heat, fuel and oxygen meet; the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat and light.

But still, something about it was…compelling.

Heat waves emanating from the flames distorted the air around it and made the forms moving around it appear to shimmer. They never had an open fire on the Ark, unless you counted accidents or arson. Lighting a fire was illegal. Fire was a hazard; it burned up oxygen and damaged whatever it touched. And it was unnecessary – solar lamps provided heat for the farms and solar fields, food could be heated by microwave. Mechanics and maintenance workers used blow-torches in their work, but that was about as much use as fire had on the Ark. But living on the ground, apparently it was essential.

"Progress?" asked Thalia.

Antonia shook her head, "It didn't work."

"What's the problem?" Tandoori asked.

"The wristband we got from Danny got fried by the power surge," Antonia replied. Frustration crept into her voice as she added, "The damn things are more delicate than they look."

"Can't you make something to stop that from happening?"

"Normally, yes, I would use a surge protector to stop it from over loading," said Antonia. "The problem is that we're stuck here with nothing but dirt and trees, and it's like we've been tossed back into the Stone Age, and I have almost nothing for me to work with!"

"Huh, I guess it is asking a lot," Thalia said slyly. "Maybe it's too much of a challenge for you."

Antonia bristled. She knew that Thalia was baiting her, playing on her pride. And it was working. Antonia couldn't stand to fail, at anything. She had always lived by the belief that there was no problem that couldn't be solved, no equation that couldn't be cracked, and she couldn't resist a technological challenge.

"Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again," said Tandoori. "Henry Ford said that." Thalia and Antonia both looked at her. Where did she get all this?

"We can try again," said Antonia, "This time patching it directly into the drop ship's mainframe." She sighed, "But we'll need another wristband."

"A problem for tomorrow," Thalia decided. "Let's enjoy tonight." Antonia glanced back into the drop ship, and Thalia continued before she could object. "Eat, rest, be human. Come on, you deserve a break. The work will still be there in the morning."

Antonia walked with them as they went to take seats by the fire where others including, Emily, Glass, and Thalia's friend Jason were already seated. Wells, who had been making sure that the food was distributed to the entire crowd – a breaking up a scuffle or two between people who took more than their share – brought a few pieces around to their side of the fire and handed them out.

"Have you tried it yet?" Glass asked Wells as he handed a piece to her.

Wells shook his head. "Not yet."

"How 'bout you take the first bite and tell me what you think," said Glass.

"I wanted to make sure everybody-"

"Everyone else can take care of themselves," Emily cut him off impatiently, "Sit down and eat." Wells smiled faintly at her snappish tone and sat down next to his friends.

Antonia looked at the piece of meat in her hands with some trepidation. It was still warm, but not so hot that it burned. She'd never eaten meat before, no one had. But she was hungry, and everyone else seemed to be fine with it. She raised it to her mouth and took a small bite. The outside was tough, but as her teeth sank in, the meat released a flood of flavour that was unlike anything she'd ever tasted before – salty, smoky and faintly sweet. She swallowed and braced for her stomach to reject the alien substance. But all she felt was warmth. And once she managed to overlook the fact that they were eating dead animal flesh, she actually did enjoy it. The kids who'd eaten first had risen from the fire and begun milling around the clearing, and for a few minutes the hum of their conversations merged with the crackling of the fire.

Thalia looked around at the people gathered by the fire. Right now they were warm and fed, talking and laughing with each other. And nobody died today, that was a plus. As for Jasper, he was in bad shape but Clarke wouldn't let him die, Thalia was sure about that much. And of course there was still Bellamy to worry about; she showed him up today, twice in fact – first with giving people weapons, and then giving them food – it was only a matter of time before he did something stupid and potentially destructive in retaliation. But like she told Antonia, it was a problem for tomorrow. For now it was nice to have a moment to just breathe and enjoy. Thalia hadn't been around people gathered like this since she was nine. In the Skybox, they had been allowed some recreational time, but it was always under the tight supervision of guards, nothing like the jovial atmosphere that the former prisoners had now that they could talk and move freely. Even the threat of the native grounders that were lurking beyond the woods didn't dampen their spirits, at least not too much. All in all, she'd call it a good day.

Emily was running her fingers through her hair trying to smooth out some of the knots that had gathered over the last two days of hiking through unfamiliar woods. With how long her hair was, that could take a while.

"Here," Glass said shifting closer to her. "Let me help."

"I've got it," said Emily, impatiently pulling at one of the more stubborn knots.

"You're making more of a mess," said Glass, "Let me." She pulled her hairbrush out of her pocket. Emily smiled softly, remembering that Glass had been brushing out her hair when the guards had come to put them on the drop ship.

Thalia watched them and her mind went back to the last time someone had done something like that for her, when she'd felt that kind of easy familiarity and comfort.

* * *

_**Flashback: Nine Years Ago**_

_She heard the door open; Momma was home. Thalia put the scissors down next to the small mirror that she had taken from her mother's room and propped up on the table to see herself._

_"Thalia!" Momma exclaimed when she saw her. "What did you do to yourself," she asked in horror._

_"It's just hair Momma," Thalia said, rolling her eyes at her mother's theatrics. She looked in the small mirror, the only one that they had, and she didn't see what the big deal was._

_Anthea Grace smiled at her little girl whose expressions always seemed older than any eight-year-old should. "But you had such beautiful hair."_

_"It grows back you know," Thalia said unconcerned. Her hair was annoying the way it curled around her ears and tickled her neck, so she got rid of it, though maybe she hadn't done the best job. It was hard to cut her own hair, especially in the back where she couldn't see it. She looked at herself in the mirror again._

_Thalia didn't know if she was beautiful; Momma was beautiful, she'd heard a lot of people say so, and she didn't look anything like Momma. Now that she was out of the hospital she could go to school with the other kids. Momma had walked her there the first day and after she left some girl from school had asked Thalia if she was an orphan from the care center that Momma had adopted._

_"Come here my girl," Anthea said coming up behind her. "Sit down and let me fix this mess."_

_Thalia sat in the chair as Anthea took up the scissors and started clipping at her hair using her fingers to measure it and cut it evenly. Thalia looked at their reflections side by side in the mirror. They really didn't look anything alike. Momma had light brown hair that was wavy and warm brown eyes; Thalia had blue eyes – bright blue, not soft blue – and black hair, and before she cut it, it was crinkly and curly. Momma had told her before that she got her looks from her father, the man in one of the pictures in Momma's locket; The locket that Anthea had given to Thalia to celebrate her being released from the medical center. Momma had made her promise not to show anyone the picture inside – she said that it was just for them._

_"There, all done," Anthea said, setting down the scissors and smoothing a hand over Thalia's hair. "At least now it doesn't look like an accident." Thalia looked in the mirror and saw that Momma had cut it even shorter so that it looked spiky. "And it does suit you," Anthea added after considering it for moment. Thalia looked up and smiled at her mother. She thought so too._

_They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Anthea went to answer it. "Hi there Anna," she said to the little blonde haired girl at the door._

_"Hello Mrs. Grace," Annabeth said sweetly, coming in. She stopped when she saw Thalia and blinked at her, "You cut your hair."_

_"You're observant," Thalia said sliding off the chair._

_"I try," Annabeth laughed. "Let's go show Luke. He's gonna love it."_

_"Thalia, you need to clean this up young lady," Anthea said, gesturing to the hair scattered on the table and floor as the girls moved to go out the door._

_"I'll clean it when I get back," she called out, going through the door with Annabeth._

_Anthea smiled as she disappeared with her friend. Her little girl had had so little time to just be a little girl over the last few years going in and out of the hospital; it was nice to see her laughing and smiling again._

* * *

Thalia ran her hand through her own short hair that reached just to her ears. She still thought it suited her. And it was _way_ easier to manage than Emily's cascade of dark hair. Even at the length it was now, Thalia was thinking that she would have to cut it again soon.

"How can you stand having that much hair?" Thalia asked out loud, looking at Emily.

Emily looked at her, and instead of answering her question, decided to ask a question of her own. "Tell me something. You always seem to know everything."

"I never claimed to know everything," Thalia objected.

"But you act like you do," Emily continued. Thalia gave a half smile at that; it was probably true. "So what do you think about the grounders?"

Thalia shrugged, "Don't know enough about them to think anything yet. Except that they really don't seem to like strangers."

"That is an understatement," Wells said remembering when they first saw Jasper strung up in that tree as live bait – and how Clarke had almost fallen into that trap. It was sheer luck that they hadn't had to carry her broken body back to camp. He suppressed a shudder.

Glass _did_ shudder. Her hands had stopped moving through Emily's hair and she was wringing them together worriedly.

"What's with you, blondie?" Tandoori asked, noticing her distress.

"I thought that girl over there was Blondie," said Jason, pointing to the other side of the fire where a girl sat on a boy's lap laughing at something he just said. Despite her name the girl had long raven black hair, piled up into a high ponytail at the top of her head so that her hair fanned out around her. She also wore goggles pushed up on her forehead that kept her hair back from her face like a headband. "Why do they call her that? And what's her real name anyway?"

"No idea," Thalia shook her head, "Never cared enough to ask."

"My name is Glass," said Glass.

"Well Glass," Tandoori picked up, "all day you've been looking like you're spun so tight that you're about to shatter."

"What's wrong?" Wells asked in concern.

Glass drew her knees up and rested her arms on them. She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Last night, after we got back to camp, I thought I saw something...some_one_ in the trees."

"What?!" said Wells – and now she had the attention of everyone in earshot. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"It was late, it was dark," she said. "I...I thought I imagined it. But now, I'm pretty sure...there was someone there."

Everyone sat in stunned silence taking it in, that one of those spear throwing grounders could have been right at the edge of their camp...and still could be. "Or it could just be hyper-vigilance," said Tandoori, "The persistent feeling of being under threat."

Glass was sure about what she saw – mostly – but still she smiled at Tandoori whose diagnosis broke off some of the tension that had suddenly sprung up around the campfire. Others went back to the conversations they were having, and the stories and jokes that they were telling. Emily however was not reassured. She looked to Thalia, who was looking off to the darkness beyond the trees with a speculative look on her face.

"You don't look surprised," Emily spoke quietly.

"That the grounders would send someone to keep watch on the strangers who came crashing out of the sky onto _their_ ground," Thalia shook her head. "No, I'm not surprised."

"That means that for all we know they could be watching us right now," Wells commented. "You seem very calm about it."

"Freaking out about it won't help," said Thalia. "They attacked before because they didn't want us crossing the river, it's some kind of boundary. So speaking optimistically, if we don't cross their boundaries, maybe we can stay out of each other's way."

"Optimism, huh," said Emily. "I pegged you for a cynic."

"You're the cynic," said Thalia, "I'm more of a realist."

"Well, realistically speaking, it is a historical fact that sharing the world has never been humanities defining attribute," said Antonia. "And there have been three World Wars and a nuclear apocalypse to prove it."

"Ain't that the truth," Tandoori said with a hard laugh.

But Thalia was no longer listening. She was thinking – How could they share the world with grounders if they were barely managing to share the camp with each other? Thalia saw the fracture in the group, the divide between those who followed her and those who followed Bellamy, and it bothered her. Whatever threat the grounders posed, trouble from within could be the greater danger.

Thalia sat up straighter and looked around for Annabeth and saw her sitting with Octavia. They were talking, laughing about something. Thalia also thought of Dax and Bo: a violent criminal who took off his wristband the first chance he got, yet was looking out for a little girl he didn't even know, but who stayed close to him because she was scared and lonely. Fractures could be healed; that was something to work on. She didn't trust Bellamy and whatever secrets he was hiding, and he certainly didn't trust her, but she'd worry about that tomorrow. At least for tonight, they were okay.

Or so she hoped when she spotted Danny standing away from the groups of people milling around, at the edge of the fire light. Danny's job was to keep an eye on Bellamy. Had Bellamy decided to retaliate sooner than she thought?

"Who's he?" Emily asked, noticing Danny as well. She looked him over, taking in the dark hair that fell over his shoulders and the slightly mischievous glint in his eyes, and she smiled appreciatively. "He's hot."

Danny nodded for Thalia to follow him and then walked off, heading away from the fires. Thalia nudged Jason. "Come with me," she said. She stood up and started walking without waiting to see if he followed. He did follow.

**XX**

"Okay, what's up?" said Annabeth.

"What?" Octavia asked, startled as Annabeth broke into her thoughts. She had been thinking about the afternoon spent in the butterfly field with Atom, blissfully replaying it in her mind.

"You haven't heard a word I've said," said Annabeth. "And you have been smiling to yourself for the last ten minutes."

"I kissed Atom," Octavia confessed.

"What?!"

"Well, _he_ kissed _me_," Octavia clarified quickly, "And _then_ I kissed him."

"And I repeat, '_What_'?" Annabeth said. "How did that happen?"

"I don't know," Octavia said, unable to stop herself from smiling. "It just sort of happened."

"You couldn't wait to get away from him this morning," Annabeth reminded her. "Now you've got stars in your eyes."

"More like butterflies," Octavia said dreamily.

"Butterflies?" Annabeth questioned.

"Never mind," Octavia dodged the question. "What about you?" she teased nodding towards the fire. "That guy hasn't stopped looking at you since you got back."

"Percy?" Annabeth said looking to the fire where Percy was talking with a few other guys. He glanced over at them, which he'd probably been doing for a while. Seeing Annabeth looking his way, Percy lifted his hand to wave, and then jumped as he put his hand too close to one of the torches. Annabeth smiled and Octavia covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laugh.

"I definitely have strong feelings for him," Annabeth said in a contemplative voice. "I just haven't decided if they're positive or negative yet."

"Well you might want to figure it out and let him know," said Octavia. "He's cute. And he's totally into you."

Annabeth looked back toward the fire and saw Thalia and Jason walking away from the fire. Thalia looked over at her and nodded. "Hey, I'll be right back OK," Annabeth said to Octavia, getting to her feet. Octavia nodded and Annabeth walked off to catch up to Thalia. "What's going on?" she asked.

Thalia just shook her head and kept walking. They caught up with Danny just at the edge of camp. "What now?" Thalia asked him.

Danny grinned, "Oh, you're gonna love this one."

**XXXXX**

Atom didn't know how long he'd been in the tree with no way to tell how much time had passed in the dark, and nothing to take his mind off the discomfort that was quickly evolving into real pain. His arms ached from being stuck in that position tied over his head, the rough bark of the tree scraped against his back through his shirt, and the pressure on his lungs from being strung up like that was making it hard to catch his breath. And it was cold. He'd tried to work at the rope binding his wrists but he was pretty sure he'd only made it tighter. The rope was burning into his wrists and by now he'd lost the feeling in his hands.

He couldn't believe Bellamy would do this to him. And for what, for kissing his sister? He didn't do anything to hurt Octavia, and he thought that Bellamy was his friend.

Yeah, didn't look like it.

Atom stiffened when he heard something moving. Bellamy and the others had brought back a scaly panther – who knew what else could be in these woods. And right now he was a sitting duck, an easy meal for any hungry predator that wondered by. Seeing human shapes approaching in the flickering light of a torch, Atom let out a relieved breath.

"Bellamy?" he called out, thinking that maybe Bellamy had come back to let him down. There was no response. Atom squinted into the darkness trying to see. What he saw was not what he expected. Thalia. And two others. And they were all armed. The light of the torch one of them was holding glinted off the knife in Thalia's hand. She looked up at him with a calculating look in her eyes, and Atom gulped. If Thalia had decided to take her problem with Bellamy out on him...It felt like a predator had found him after all.

"You're Atom, right?" she asked.

Thalia looked up at Atom, staked out just like the grounders had done to Jasper. When Danny told her what Bellamy had done to one of his own guys, she half thought he was kidding. But now she could see that Bellamy thinking that he was in charge was definitely going to his head. _Someone's on a power trip_, Thalia thought. She'd told Danny to stay behind, not wanting to tip Bellamy off that she had a spy in his camp if things didn't go the way she wanted with Atom. Jason stood on her left, holding one of the torches from camp, and Annabeth was on her right, still with her bow.

Atom looked down at them worriedly. Thalia's friend, the blonde with the bow, drew an arrow and aimed it at him. "No, no wait," Atom begged. "Wait!"

The arrow shot from the bow and cut through the rope tying him to the tree. Atom fell with a gasp, hitting the ground hard. He groaned in pain from hitting his knee and from the blood rushing back into his hand like a thousand needles as he shook them out trying to get some of the feeling back. He looked up when Thalia stepped in front of him and flinched back when the hand holding the knife came towards him, but Thalia only cut the rope still wrapped around his wrists. The rope fell away revealing the red marks it had left in his skin. Atom was even more surprised when Thalia tossed the knife to her left hand and held her right hand out to help him up.

"Looks like you could use some new friends," she said. Atom looked at her uncertainly. Then he took her hand and Thalia helped him to his feet.

**XXXXX**

**On The Ark: Mecha Station - Restricted level**

Raven Reyes walked down a corridor in one of the lower levels of Mecha Station with her tool belt around her waist and her tool kit in hand. Normally, this section of the station would be off limits, but a work order had been called into mechanics and she had been assigned to it. She double checked the designation on the work order in her handheld vid-screen as she came up to a sealed door. Yeah, she was in the right place. Raven had been about to clock out for the day and head home when the call came in. She knocked on the door and tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice as she said, "Someone call for a mechanic?"

The door slid opened to show Dr. Abby Griffin. "You're the one who called in the work order?" asked Raven.

"We need to talk." Abby stepped aside to allow Raven to enter and then slid the door closed behind her.

Raven felt the smallest flicker of fear as she walked past Dr. Griffin. Getting caught sneaking into Government &amp; Science Station to spy on a councilor could have landed her in a cell; she knew she was lucky that Dr. Griffin had let her go earlier. But maybe that had changed. Maybe she'd brought her down here to get her on some trumped up charge, like trespassing in a restricted zone, so that they could have her floated without any questions being asked about why she was in Go-Sci Station, and what was really going on in Earth Monitoring.

"Look, if this is about before," said Raven, "I told you I'm…I'm not gonna say anything okay."

"I believe you," Abby said to her, "And don't worry, you're not in trouble. Follow me."

"Not in trouble yet you mean," Raven muttered behind her back as she followed Abby further into the room. "This level's off limits for people like me."

"Not anymore." Abby stopped next to some big bulky piece of machinery that was covered by a tarp and turned to face Raven. "You know that we sent The 100 to the ground, but you don't know why." Now Raven's interest was peaked. "The Ark is dying Raven. Life support is on its last legs. I have ten days to prove that Earth is survivable…or the council is going to start reducing the population. Three hundred and twenty innocent people will be killed."

Raven looked at her in shock and confusion. She didn't know much about politics, but she knew that this was the kind of information that could get people killed to keep secret. Why would a councilor be talking to her bout it?

"I…I don't get it," Raven stammered. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I looked up your file," said Abby. "You're the youngest zero-G mech on the Ark in 50 years."

"Fifty-two, but…so what?" Raven said, still not seeing what any of this had to do with her.

"So…" Abby turned to the machine that she was leaning against and pulled off the tarp to show an oblong pod. The small craft was taller than a man, but not by much, and it looked like it could hold three or four people in a tight fit. It was rusted in places and pieces of metal and loose wiring hung off of it. Russian words that had been painted on the side of it had faded to the point of being illegible (not that either of then knew Russian anyway).

Abby turned back to Raven and said, "You have nine days to get this ready so that I can survive a drop."

Raven looked form Abby to the pod uncertainly and stepped forward. "God, this thing is a piece of junk. They must have found this thing when they salvaged Mir-3 in 2102," she said, referring to the Russian station that had been destroyed way back when. She circled the pod, examining it from all angles before she turned back to Abby. "You want me to get a 130-year-old escape pod ready to stand up to the inferno of re-entry...in nine days?"

"Can you do it or not?"

Raven looked again to the escape pod, her hand unconsciously going to the necklace she wore with a pendant hanging from the end of it. A look of stubborn determination came over her face.

"Hell yes I can do it," she said. "But I'm coming with you. You're not the only one with someone you love on the ground," Raven continued before Abby could object. "That's my offer. Take it, or leave it."

Abby smiled at her boldness, at her willingness to launch herself into the unknown for someone she loved. Once again, the brazen young mechanic reminded her of Clarke. "Alright," Abby conceded, "you can come with me."

Raven smiled back. "Then you got yourself a mechanic."

She held her hand out to Abby and they shook on it. And Abby saw what Raven had been turning over in her hand. A handmade metal wire pendant dangled from the chain around the young mechanic's neck. It was in the shape of a small bird, a raven.

.

_Love, I have wounds only you can mend, you can mend_

_I guess that's love, I can't pretend, I can't pretend_

_._

**XXXXX**

Clarke settled under a large tree, leaning back against the thick trunk as she ate her piece of the roasted deer meat that had been passed around the fire. She'd left Jasper inside the drop ship with Monty watching over him. Their friend hadn't woken up, and was clearly a lot of pain, but he was stable for now, and she was just relieved to have him back. The would need to find some way to treat his wound properly, some substitute that they could use for the medicines that she would have normally used in the Ark's medical center. They would have to improvise. Natural medicines had existed long before serums and pills; there had to be something on the ground that they could use. She tried to think what her mother would do, but honestly she was tired. In her determination first to get to Mount Weather and then to find Jasper, she had put everything else out of her mind. But now that they were back in camp with no immediate crisis pending, the weight of the last two days crashed down on her, and she realized how tired and hungry she really was.

_._

_Feel, my skin is rough, but it can be cleansed, it can be cleansed_

_And my arms are tough, but they can be bent, they can be bent_

_._

Finn settled down next to her and held something out to her in his hand: a small metal wire sculpture of a deer with two heads. Clarke laughed, and Finn smiled at the way her face lit up when she was no longer on a mission, when she just relaxed.

Wells looked on from where he was standing out of Clarke's line of sight, and sighed. He had been looking for her to make sure that she had gotten something to eat, and hopefully to see if she'd join him and the others by the fire. But apparently, his concern wasn't needed. He turned away, not sure what hurt worse: turning away from Clarke, or the sight of her so cozy with Finn.

_._

_And I want to fight, but I can't contend_

_I guess that's love, I can't pretend, I can't pretend_

_._

As he came back to where his friends were seated, he heard Tandoori talking to Emily.

"…'a sarcastic person has a superiority complex that can be cured only by the honesty of humility'. Lawrence G. Lovasik," Tandoori stated.

Emily smirked at her. "Here's a quote for you: 'Mama said knock you out,' LL Cool J."

"You want to humble Emily," Glass said to Tandoori as she was braiding Emily's hair into its usual single French-braid. "Good luck with that."

"What are we talking about here?" Wells asked as he retook his seat.

"Well, we were talking about how if our self-appointed King and Queen go to war with each other, these people," Emily waved a hand indicating the whole camp, "could all end up killing each other."

Emily's casual tone belayed the seriousness of that statement. Serious, because it was true; there was a clear divide in the camp between those who followed Bellamy and those who followed Thalia.

"Wow," said Wells. "That's morbid."

"That's Emily," said Glass.

"Really," Emily nudged her. "Well why don't you try cheering us up then, huh?"

"Yeah Songbird," said Tandoori. "Let's hear something."

"I...I can't..." Glass began uncertainly.

"Hey," Wells said gently. "Come on. Sing for us." He gestured to himself and Emily. "We're the only one here."

_._

_Oh, feel our bodies grow, and our souls they bend_

_Yeah love I hope you know, how much my heart depends_

_._

Glass couldn't help but smile at him. She focused on her friends – she sang for them before, many times – and forgot everyone else as she started to sing:

_"__We are a desert island. It's just you and I _

_And all I want to do is get more stranded with you_

_Don't need no life boat, figure it out as we go_

_Don't need applause, we ain't found but we ain't lost_

_We are a desert island, and we are still surviving now, now, now…"_

For someone who was so soft spoken, when Glass sang, her voice carried. It grew stronger and lifted up, weaving through the crowd gathered around the campfire like a warm breeze on a cool night, drawing people in as more people stopped what they were doing to listen.

_"__Hell yeah, we'll survive, we've survived, we're surviving_

_Hell no, don't you hide, don't you cry, keep on fighting_

_Hell yeah, we fell from space, found a place, and we are staying_

_Our voices never fading out…"_

And for the moment they could all forget their troubles, their worries about life on Earth or their families and friends left behind on the Ark. Even about the threat of the hostile natives who, for all they knew, could be watching them even now from just beyond the shadows…

_._

_But I guess that's love, I can't pretend, I can't pretend_

_I guess that's love, I can't pretend, I can't pretend_

_._

**XXXXX**

At the edge of the campsite, unseen in the trees, a dark masked figure moved silently closer to perch on one of the thick branches directly over the heads of two of the strangers. Looking down at them he saw that they were talking with each other and enjoying their meal, unaware of his presence. Every village in the mountains had seen their ship fall out of the sky the day before, but his was closest to where it had landed and so he'd been tasked with keeping watch on these strangers, these invaders in his tribe's territory – these Sky People. As the scout had done with other potential enemies of the tribe he was to remain hidden and observe, to learn how many there were, why they were here, and if they posed a threat to his people.

So far they seemed to be more of a threat to each other, constantly fighting amongst themselves. And from what he'd observed they'd had no knowledge that his people were here – they'd been shocked to learn that _any_ people were here – and they were calling his people 'Grounders'. As for their numbers, the scout had marked them at one hundred and one, including the two bodies that had been carried out of their ship and buried at first light.

They seemed to still be children, though in his village children their age would already be competent with weapons. From what he'd seen, a few of them had some skill, but not many – it was clear that most had never handled a weapon. Most of them looked to be around the same age; the youngest was no more than nine or ten years and the oldest not yet full grown, hardly more than a boy himself – a boy pretending to be a man as he took charge of his people. Not all of the Sky-People followed him though; the dark haired girl who challenged him looked to have half their number on her side.

As he observed the strangers, the scout didn't have to look behind him to know that he was no longer alone in his watch as another figure crept close and settled in the same tree, on a branch to his side. Around the same age as most of the invaders and still in training, this was the younger scout's first mission, and she had almost been seen by one of the Sky People the night before when she'd ventured too close. She took too many chances, let her curiosity get the best of her, and still had much to learn: patience, discipline…

"Where's my knife?!"

"I didn't touch your knife!"

...and restraint. He looked across to the younger scout as she examined the knife she had apparently taken from one of the strangers, thankfully without being seen. She wasn't wearing her mask, and she looked over at him and grinned. He shook his head. In the camp below them, two boys had started fighting with each other about the missing knife while others cheered them on. Yes, these sky-children were more of a danger to each other. However, if it turned out that they presented a danger in the tribe's territory then they would most likely be crushed. But for now, the scouts' task was simply to remain hidden, and watch.

.

* * *

**Author's note:** The lyrics feature din this chapter are form _Can't Pretend_ by Tom Odell, and the song is actually played in the end scene of The 100 1x02 Earth Skills.

**Disclaimer:** The song that Glass sings are not my original lyrics. It is called _Never Fading Out_ by Someone's Little Sister and is featured on the ABC Family series, The Fosters. I thought that it would fit how they would all be feeling at that point in the story.


	19. Only Survival And Death

**Author's Note: I apologize for the very long wait for the new chapter. It has been one thing after another with work over the summer and then getting back to school. I will try to update again soon. Please comment and review. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Earth Kills**

_We'd always dreamed of what life on Earth would be like, never believing that we would actually get to see it. Now that we're here, we can see that the fantasy didn't even come close to reality. The reality of life on the ground is so much better. And so much worse. Life on the Ark felt like we were just biding our time; for some of us, we were just waiting to die. Down here, we can really live. We can feel the sun, run through the trees, splash in the water, breathe real air. We are on the ground now. Now…we just have to survive it. Down here, we will learn how Earth Kills._

* * *

Chapter 19 - Only Survival And Death

The ring of metal striking metal sounded through the clearing as swords clashed together. Annabeth kept her sword raised defensively to protect herself as her opponent advanced on her, swinging a blade at her again and again. She just barely managed to block each blow, and didn't have the time to catch her breath, yet alone strike back. Sweat beaded on her brow from the exertion despite the drop in temperature as evening approached. She gritted her teeth as she was forced back yet again and her adversary advanced on her.

Emily for her part was holding back, a lot. She was used to sparing with trained Officers and Guardsmen. But still, while she may not be too much of a challenge for Emily, Annabeth was a natural with the sword. Just as when they'd practiced with a bow before their first hunt, Annabeth instinctively held a sword well despite never having used one before. They'd started in the afternoon and already she'd learned a proper grip to handle the blade and picked up on basic strokes to attack and defend, as well as proper footing and movements. A lot of it she'd learned mostly just from observation.

Emily let up on her assault for a moment and Annabeth took the opportunity to strike. It was a good move, but one Emily was expecting. Instead of parrying it, she dodged back. Annabeth followed through quickly while she had the opening and struck out with her free hand closed into a fist. Emily caught it before it hit her, but missed the hilt of Annabeth's sword aimed for her stomach. Emily stifled a grunt of pain and actually smiled. Annabeth had gotten in close where Emily couldn't use the long reach of her sword and used one move as a distraction while aiming for a soft spot. The girl knew how to strategize and think on her feet; she might not be a guard or an officer, but someone had trained her.

"Who taught you how to fight?" Emily asked as they backed off and circled each other.

"Friend of mine, Luke," said Annabeth. "He's in the Guard." As she said the word 'guard', she scraped the end of her sword across the dirt floor, flashing dirt towards Emily's eyes. Emily brought her arm up to protect her eyes and Annabeth struck with her sword. Emily blocked it – Annabeth was fast, but Emily was faster – and metal sang as their blades slid against each other.

"He teach you to cheat?" Emily said. She lost a step as Annabeth pushed against her.

Annabeth shook her head. "There's no such thing. There's only survival and death."

Emily smirked. "Well you're not wrong about that."

In a move almost too quick to see, she struck Annabeth's sword arm, using the knuckles of just two fingers to strike a nerve point in the other girl's arm that caused her hand to loosen on her sword as she gasped in pain. Emily snatched Annabeth's sword in her free hand and in the next instant the blade of Emily's sword was against the back of Annabeth's neck, and the tip of Annabeth's own sword was to her throat. Annabeth looked stunned for a moment at how quickly she'd executed that maneuver.

"You need more training," Emily said critically. She moved both swords away and held Annabeth's sword out to her, hilt first.

Annabeth took it and smiled. "Impressive."

Rather than accepting the compliment, Emily gave her a scrutinizing look as she slipped her sword back into its sheath. Emily had plenty of practice with wearing a mask to cover what she really felt, and she got the sense that Annabeth's smiles and bubbly personality were what she used as her mask. Annabeth may be smiling, but Emily could see the swirl of carefully contained anger brewing behind those stormy gray eyes of hers. She _really_ didn't like to lose.

Too bad for her, Emily liked to win.

Many of The 100 had been using watching their sparing match as an excuse to get out of some of the work that needed to be done around camp. Octavia was among the spectators, and she chose that moment to direct a snide comment at Emily.

"Not everyone is some totally emotionless perfect Princess," she said with a contemptuous look. Octavia was among those who hadn't let go of the fact that Emily was the Vice Chancellor's daughter (a daughter of the people who locked then up and sent them to Earth as lab rats), and held her higher status on the Ark against her. And in that arena, it didn't really help that Emily, unlike Clarke or Wells, hadn't made much effort to be friendly. A people pleaser she was not.

"Push me little girl and I'll make you wish your brother had never taken you out of that hole you grew up in," Emily taunted with an amused smirk, knowing that she hit a nerve. Emily knew that one thing she and Octavia had in common was a hot temper when it came to personal issues. The difference was that she had the skill to back up her anger.

Octavia lashed out at her as she anticipated (just as she'd tried to do when Annabeth called her 'the girl they found hidden in the floor' before they first opened the door of the drop ship on Arrival Day). Emily easily side stepped out of the way. Octavia turned quickly and came at her again, but she grabbed her arm and pushed her back, at the same time hooking her leg out from under her so that Octavia landed on the ground on her back.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked as she came to Octavia's side. Octavia was fuming as she got to her feet, but the only thing hurt was her pride.

"Do that again."

They both looked at Emily to see her watching Octavia thoughtfully, considering something.

"What?" Octavia asked, confused. Emily pulled out one of the knives she had strapped to her leg, walked up to Octavia and pushed it into her hand.

"Attack again," Emily ordered, stepping back.

"Emily…" Glass started to interrupt form the sidelines, but Emily shot her a look that told her to stay out of it. Octavia looked from Emily to the knife in her hand and back.

"What's the matter?" Emily smirked at her hesitation. "You picked a fight and you can't see it through?"

Murmurs picked up in the crowd of spectators as this new challenge was thrown down.

Octavia gripped the knife; she didn't know what game Emily was playing, but she wasn't going to let Emily think that she was afraid of her. Octavia came at Emily, stabbing with the knife. Emily dodged and Octavia came at her again; Emily directed the hand holding the knife away from her with very little effort. All the while she was watching the way Octavia moved very closely. Suddenly she grabbed Octavia's arm again, spun around and bent the other girl's arm behind her back, careful not to strain it.

"If that's the best you can do, then you better go find yourself a new hidey-hole," Emily taunted as Octavia tried to break out of her grip. Emily let her go and Octavia screeched and swung around in anger, slashing with the knife. Emily stepped back in time to avoid the knife and saw a few strands of her hair float to the ground. Emily's laugh took Octavia by surprise. "That's better," Emily said smiling. "That anger you have can make you strong. _If_ you can control it," she added with a sneer indicating that she didn't think Octavia had much control.

Angered that Emily was mocking her again, Octavia came at her again with the knife. Emily's face went from mildly amused to ice cold; she grabbed Octavia's wrist and snatched the knife from her before it even came close to making contact, then she twisted Octavia's arm while keeping it extended and pushed down in her shoulder, forcing her to her knees. Keeping her arm locked in that position it would only take a few more pounds of pressure for Emily to break it. When Octavia tried to pull away, it only increased the pressure on her arm. She gasped in pain, and a jolt of real fear shot through her.

"Anger without control is dangerous," Emily hissed at her. She'd spent years controlling every angry impulse that came to her. Without that control that she'd cultivated, she would have ended up in prison way sooner that she actually did. "If you don't learn control, then you will only get _yourself_ hurt." Emily pushed her away and Octavia staggered from being released so suddenly. When Octavia looked at her, her familiar smirk was back in place. "Piece of advice little girl: don't pick a fight until you learn how."

"I've heard that one before," a new voice rang out.

Emily rolled her eyes before turning around, already knowing who was calling her out. A Hispanic girl with a scowl on her face had separated herself from the gathering of onlookers and stepped forward to face Emily. She had an unconventional and hard beauty, not a girly girl femininity that so many others had. She was tall with a striking mane of dark hair and a predatory glint in her eye.

The girl's name was Santos, Emily Santos. And years ago, she and Emily Kane had actually been good friends. Once upon a time, they'd found childlike amusement in the fact that they shared the same first name. Or at least one of them had.

* * *

**_Flashback: five years ago_**

_Little Emmi Santos, stood in line with the other new recruits in combat training. Standing shoulder to shoulder in line with the others, the only thing that made her stand out was the fact that she was the smallest one there. She'd been in combat training for a week and no one had taken any notice of her except to wonder what the hell she thought she was doing there. Emmi could see the question in their eyes (and in their sneers). She was the new girl who came from a worker family on Hydra Station. What was she doing here with them? On the social scale, Hydra, like Factory Station where most of the families were workers, was considered one of the lower stations. Not like Go-Sci, Alpha or Arrow Station, where most of these kids came from._

_Emmi did her best to ignore their teasing and focus on her goal. If she made it through the preliminary testing, then she could be admitted into Officer Training. Officers were ranked higher than Guardsmen and civilians, and their training started early. If she made it then she wouldn't be just another worker. She studied hard for the academic side of the testing and so far she'd done well. It was when combat training started that she fell short. And everybody let her know it._

_But she wasn't going to quit. She'd show them. She wasn't weak._

_"Alright," the instructor called their attention, "Who's going up against Kane?"_

_As part of training today, they'd been sparing in pairs. Most of the pairs had done their match already. No one had volunteered to pair up with Emmi. She was the weakest one there; beating her wouldn't prove anything. It wouldn't raise their ranking in the class. No one had paired up with Kane either, but for an entirely different reason._

_Emily Kane. Top of the class in _all_ areas. And Councilor Marcus Kane's daughter. _

_No one wanted to pair up with her because they knew they wouldn't win. And because they were very likely to get hurt. At thirteen, Kane was the best in their age group – probably the best in some of the older age groups too when she was allowed to train with them thanks to special permission from her father. Looking at her now as she stood next to the instructor, Emmi thought that Kane looked like someone who had never had where she belonged questioned. She held her head high as her eyes swept over the other cadets one by one. Emmi held her breath when those piercing brown eyes landed on her and stayed on her. That look, it was like Kane was daring her to step up. But then, with a slight shake of her head, Emily Kane's eyes flicked away from her dismissively._

_When no one immediately stepped up to spar with her, Kane smirked._

_And Emmi Santos for some reason suddenly felt her blood boil. That last dismissive look that Kane just gave her, like she wasn't worth taking notice of…she'd seen it one too many times. With her eyes still on Emily Kane, Emmi Santos did something that was impulsive, most likely to draw more negative attention from those who thought she didn't belong, and would probably get her hurt. _

_Knowing that it was a stupid idea even as she did it, she stepped forward and said, "Me."_

_There was a smattering of chuckles and snorts that followed her as she walked onto the mat – "Dead girl walking," Rileigh Byrne hissed at her as she passed; Kayla Shumway shushed her and gave Emmi an encouraging nod – but Emmi ignored them all. She stood on the mat and faced her opponent. _

_After, when they were all gathering their things to leave the training room, Emmi bent down to pick up her bag. Bending down hurt thanks to the hits she'd taken to her ribs. She ended up sliding to the floor to rest for a moment and catch her breath. It was probably better to let everyone else clear out first anyway, and avoid the taunting jabs they would aim at her. Everyone was too glad to be done with training for today to take any notice of her, but one voice did catch her attention._

_"You didn't have to hit her that hard Em," she heard Wells Jaha say and knew that he was talking to Emily Kane. They were talking about her._

_And hearing Emily's answer almost brought tears to her eyes, "If she can't take it then she shouldn't be here."_

_Emmi held the tears back; they wouldn't do any good. But maybe they were right, maybe she didn't belong. Maybe she never would be anything more than just another worker from Hydra Station._

_"Some advice: don't pick a fight 'til you learn how," a voice said in front her. Emmi looked up to find the other Emily, Emily Kane standing over her. A quick glance around showed that everyone else had already left. She gaped at Emily while the councilor's daughter kept talking to her. "You have a decent right hook Santos, but the rest of your technique is sloppy. I can help you with that if you want."_

_Emmi just stared. Emily Kane was talking to her. Not taunting, but talking. Kane had never talked to her before – not with a kind word, or a snide comment as most of the others had – but her focus was entirely on Emmi now. Her eyes seemed so crisp, so clear, so dark. Emmi found herself staring into them…a little too long, before she realized that she was supposed to say something. _

_"Why would you want to help me Kane?" she asked uncertainly._

_ "A fight's always more fun when the other person can hit back," Emily said with a shrug. With a slight frown she added, "And don't call me Kane. It's Emily." And then her frown disappeared just as quickly as it came, "You go by Emmi right? That's cute."_

_"It's Emily," she said quickly, and then realized that she was still sitting on the floor. Getting hurriedly to her feet, she stammered, "I mean…my name's Emily too." She tried not to smile like an idiot, but she liked the fact that they shared the same name._

_Emily Kane tipped her head to the side thoughtfully. She didn't like it as much as the other Emily did, but she didn't let that show as she said, "I think I'll just call you Santos."_

* * *

That childlike attachment died long ago. Facing Santos with a fake friendly smile, Emily said, "Well look what the crazy dragged in."

Needless to say, their friendship had not ended on the best of terms. Santos had been arrested, predictably, for assault. Emily hadn't seen her in nearly three years but looking at her now, she could see that the girl still had a screw loose.

Behind Santos' a boy, Leo, stood looking at her with an adoring look on his face – the kind of boy who was happy if a pretty girl like her gave him the time of day. And knowing Santos, she probably liked the kind of devoted attention a boy like that would give her; it made her feel better about herself.

"I see you found a new toy to play with," Emily said. "Try not to get too attached this time. I know how you get when you lose things."

She saw a confused look come over Leo's face for a moment as he wondered what she meant by that, but it disappeared back into a grin when Santos looked at him and gave him a flirty smile. Leo wasn't crazy. He was just dumb enough to follow someone who _was_ crazy. And he probably liked that a pretty girl was giving him some attention. But Santos wasn't interested in him, not really. Emily had seen what she looked like when she was interested, and that wasn't it. He was just someone who would do what she told him to. When she turned back to Emily, it was with a look of venom in her eyes.

"You're the one still always playing games with people. Like her," Santos nodded to Octavia. Then she looked to Glass and said nastily, "Or like your little friend over there."

Emily's fake smile turned into a look that was straight up hostile and she stepped in front of Santos, close enough to block Glass from her view. She didn't want this psycho going anywhere near Glass, not after what happened last time. "You ever touch her again and I will end you," she said dangerously.

"Yeah? Well I'm right here. A fight's always more fun when the other person can hit back right? So why don't you take a shot _Kane_?" Santos said in a taunting voice. She knew how much Emily hated to be called by her last name.

And Emily knew what Santos hated. "You're not worth it. You _never_ were."

With a girl who suffered from an unfortunate mix of anger issues and an inferiority complex, that was hitting where it hurt. And Santos hit back, again predictably, with a fist. Emily saw it coming and dodged back, though the blow still glanced off her chin. Santos had a mean right cross and knew how to put power behind it; if her fist connected properly, she could knock someone on their ass, maybe knock them out cold. And Emily knew that because she was the one who taught her how to hit like that.

As Emily counterattacked, the members of The 100 who'd been watching backed off to give them room. Some of them looked wary about the very obvious hostility between these two, while others started chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" One thing you could always count on from a group of juvenile delinquents was that they loved a good fight.

The calm that she went to when she fought melted away the anticipation of the crowd that had grown, and Emily's focus zeroed in on her newest combatant. The muscles in Santos' neck and shoulders were tense. Her eyes moved restlessly over her opponent's body, and behind them a chaotic energy peeked out, visible to anyone who knew how to look for it. It was anxious and fearful, yet filled with sneering arrogance – the usual contradiction that Emily had always seen in her. Santos' jaw clenched and unclenched, her breathing was uneven; she was off balance, physically and mentally. She may want this fight, but Emily knew that her unchecked emotion would blind and weaken her, just like it always had.

The crowd exclaimed as they fought. The way those two fought looked like it might have been choreographed; they knew each other's moves and how to counter them. This wasn't a prison brawl like what had been seen before in the Skybox, and it wasn't sparing like when Annabeth had gone up against Emily. It was a fight, plain and simple; they wanted to hurt each other. Santos' preferred method of fighting was a cross between kickboxing and jujitsu, and Emily altered her style to match it, meeting her blow for blow and kick for kick to block or deflect each one. Emily knew that Santos was a good fighter – she should be; Emily was the one who taught her – but her anger and impatience made her predictable, a fact that Emily took full advantage of.

Emily side-stepped, affecting a miscalculation that appeared to put her off balance. Santos lunged to take advantage of the opening. If her thinking was unclouded by her rage, she might have been more cautious. As it was, Emily was able to aim a kick at her knee as she came in close; before Santos even had time to react, Emily's foot flicked up to the side of her head, knocking her down hard. That would give her a headache later.

Santos' new boyfriend chose that moment to come to her aid; he charged at Emily from behind while her focus seemed to be elsewhere. Leo thought that surprise would give him an advantage, but Emily wasn't easy to surprise. She spun away before he made contact, kicking his leg out from under him in the process. Before he even knew what happened, she flipped him head over heels. The spectators groaned in sympathy as he landed hard on his back a few feet away and lay groaning on the dirt floor.

Turning back to Santos who'd pulled herself off the ground Emily said condescendingly, "You done yet?"

The two of them both held anger over whatever history they had between them, but those watching who were really paying attention could see the contrast between Emily's cold focus and Santos' growing agitation. Santos lashed out wildly, her precision way off as rage overtook her training.

Emily blocked the punch, and grabbing her arm, she twisted it behind her with much more force than she'd used on Octavia until Santos cried out in pain. She pinned one arm across the other girl's throat and kicking out the back of her knee, Emily forced her to the ground. She held Santos in a head lock as she struggled to breath. Emily could break her neck with that hold, and Santos knew it. Real fear surged through her as she tried to pry Emily's hands away, terrified that with one brutal twist, her time on Earth would be over.

"She's gonna kill her."

"Let 'em fight."

"Someone stop her!"

But nobody moved to stop her. Voices of the people around them prickled at the edge of her focus, but Emily tuned them out. Santos had tried to hurt her friend before – she'd hurt Glass; that's what she'd gone to prison for – and Emily could stop her from ever doing it again right now. She could choke her to death, or just break her neck, make it quick.

"Emily!" That voice stopped her, that gentle melodic voice. It was Glass calling her name. "Emily, stop! Let her go!"

Emily felt Santos struggling to get loose and knew that she was afraid. The anger in her eyes melted away to be replaced by a cold mask. She pushed Santos away from her and looked down on her as she landed on the ground. Santos' ferocity had subsided with the fear of having her neck broken, but the hate was still there. Leo just looked wide-eyed and queasy. Emily turned in a slow circle surveying the crowd as they watched her warily. When she spoke her voice was frighteningly calm after what had just happened.

"Anyone else who has a problem with me better get it out now." She spoke in a cold calm voice that was somehow scarier than if she'd been yelling. "Next time, I won't be holding back." No one stepped up; they all stood back, watched her warily. Some wouldn't even meet her eye. "Didn't think so."

Emily turned and stalked away, heading out of camp alone. Evening turned to night pretty quickly; it would be dark soon, and it wasn't safe to be out in the woods after dark. But nobody tried to stop her. They just stared after her, stunned.

"Show's over people," Thalia's voice snapped them all out of it. In the excitement, nobody noticed her come up, but with a hard look around the gathered crowd she dispersed them back to the jobs that they were supposed to be doing until only Annabeth, Octavia and Glass were left.

Glass was looking off into the part of the forest that Emily had disappeared into. Emily had been going off into the woods on her own the past two nights since Arrival Day, like she couldn't stay put in camp for long. Glass worried about her out there, but after what just happened she was thinking that maybe she should be worried about her in here too.

"What the hell is wrong with her?!" Octavia said to nobody in particular, her own anger still simmering from her little go-around with Emily.

Thalia tilted her head thoughtfully. Whether that question was supposed to be about Emily or Santos, her answer for both of them was, "My first guess would be: a lot."

Annabeth noticed that Octavia was holding her arm in close to her. "Are you alright?" she asked in concern.

"I'm fine," said Octavia even as she winced when she moved her arm. It probably was strained from when Emily twisted it.

"You should let Clarke take a look at that arm," said Annabeth, "Just in case."

"I'll come with you," said Glass. Octavia nodded and they walked away towards the drop ship where Clarke would be taking care of Jasper. The camp's doctor had barely left her patient's side since they'd brought him home after he was speared by grounders, and Glass had been trying to help her as much as she could.

"She's tough," Thalia observed as Octavia walked away. "Not much of a fighter though. She's got a lot to learn." Apparently she'd caught Octavia's tussle with Emily. "Emily's a hell of a fighter." Thalia glanced at the sword that Annabeth was still holding, "Looks like she could be a good teacher too."

"Sure," Annabeth said sarcastically, "_If_ she were interested in actually teaching anyone instead of just beating people into the dirt."

"Then you teach her," said Thalia.

Annabeth shot Thalia a questioning look. Thalia took an interest in people when she thought they were either a threat or that they could be useful. And as far as Thalia was concerned, Octavia seemed to be neither. She hadn't even spoken more than a few words to her.

"Okay, I know why _I _would want Octavia to learn how to fight," said Annabeth, "But why do _you_?"

"Does it matter?" Thalia snapped, "You want your friend to be able to defend herself don't you?" There had been times before when Thalia asked Annabeth to do things, but she usually gave Annabeth a reason for whatever she was asking. This time though, she just walked away.

**XXXXX**

There was a time when Emily was a child that she used to be afraid of the dark as most children are; when bad dreams or sleepless nights would drive her to knock on her parents' door in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. Her mother would welcome her into her arms; her father took a more practical approach. He sat her down back in her own room and told her not to act like a child, that nothing in the dark could hurt her. She already knew that, but still, as any child would, she reached out for someone to comfort her, to make her feel safe. That didn't happen. She was five when she stopped seeking out her father for comfort and protection against the monsters that hid in the dark. That was when she started learning to rely only on herself. But…she'd always had trouble sleeping through the night, which was part of the reason why she'd taken to wondering the woods after dark.

Emily hiked through the woods with the last light of day fading; soon there would be nothing but the moonlight and the stars to guide her. She didn't feel safe, but she also wasn't afraid of the encroaching darkness around her, or what it could be hiding. Something happened each time she crossed the tree line, as she moved away from camp in the quickly dimming evening light, setting out on another night of exploration. She began taking deeper breaths, tasting the scent of the flowers that she noticed bloomed only at night. She exhaled slowly, letting the tension that she'd carried from camp dissipate with her breath into the night air. Her heart pounded with strong, slow, steady beats, marching in time to a pulse in the ground.

The best part of being out here was the quiet. Nowhere on the Ark had ever been completely silent. There was always a low hum of background noise: the drone of machinery working, the buzz of the lights, the echo of footsteps in the hallway. It had been unsettling the first time she'd entered the forest on her own without a group of people with her, not having anything to drown out her thoughts. But the more time she spent here, the quieter her mind became. And the quieter her mind became, the sharper her senses seemed to be. It was like someone hacked into her brain and cranked her senses up to a setting she hadn't even known existed.

Now Emily made her way down a trail bordered by slender trees whose branches wove together forming a sort of archway. She had a goal in mind to get to tonight; taking this path was a detour. She'd seen something down here from the hill above and wanted a closer look. She moved with caution as a geometric outline took shape among the tangle of branches. It was a house. Mostly intact, although a portion of the right side had partially collapsed, the mountains must have protected it from the bombs ninety-seven years ago. As she got closer, Emily saw that the house was made of stone, which had a better chance of weathering the destruction. There was no glass left in the windows, and thick vines covered much of the surviving walls, curling up through the window and out through holes in the roof, looking like they were poised to pull this remnant of human life down into the depths of the Earth.

Emily walked towards the side of the house furthest from the collapsed wall where there was a window with a ledge beneath it. She pulled herself up with ease and then lowered herself through the window, disappearing into the darkness inside. This house was an actual home where people had lived before nuclear war destroyed the world. As her eyes adjusted to being cut off from the light, she saw that she stood in what had once been a kitchen. The floor was covered in cracked tiles, and broken cabinets hung precariously on the far wall. The counter was layered with generations of dust. Emily didn't touch anything as she moved through the other rooms that were still intact, seeing bits and pieces of how people on the ground had lived so long ago. In one of them, she stopped in the doorway, not going any further. There on a bed lay three skeletons, their moth eaten clothes still draped over them. The smaller one in the middle was obviously a child. A child who'd died with its parents arms around it and a stuffed bear in its arms.

When Emily was sparring it was easy to see that she was enjoying herself; in a real fight her expression showed cold focus. Walking through the woods she was both vigilant and relaxed at the same time. But at this moment, to anyone looking, it would have been impossible to tell what she was feeling, whether she felt sadness at this forlorn sight, or was completely indifferent to it.

Eight billion, that's how many people died when the bombs fell. It had always seemed like an abstract concept, just another fact learned in school, but here she was seeing it up close. Emily couldn't help musing over the irony of the day: fighting out an old grudge when much bigger issues plagued them. She could have killed Santos back at camp – it wouldn't have been difficult, and she would be lying if she said that she hadn't been at least a little bit tempted to get rid of a problem right then and there. But the world had seen so much death…who was she to add to it. On Earth they were surrounded by a legacy of destruction.

A crack sounded from just outside the house. It was a minute sound, but she heard it. She didn't rush to look for the source of the sound though. She knew that she wasn't alone. Someone was following her.

'Someone' stood with a knife in his hand outside the window that Emily used to get into the dilapidated house, contemplating whether to follow her inside or wait for her to come back out. She was alone and away from the camp, and he wondered if she even considered how vulnerable that made her.

He froze as the blade of a knife was pressed to his neck from behind and a voice spoke in his ear. "I don't like being followed."

Alright, so not so vulnerable.

"Yes, I can see that," Danny answered. Emily allowed him to turn to face her while still keeping her knife on him. When she heard him outside, she'd crept out of the house through the broken wall and slipped back around the side. "You mind lowering the knife?"

Emily looked him over. Aside from the knife in his hand, it didn't look like he was carrying any other weapons, and he held the knife loosely out to the side – non-threatening. She'd never seen him fight, but if he was a threat to her she was sure she could take him. She moved her knife away from his neck and stepped back, putting a little space between them.

"Sun's going down," said Danny. "You know, it's not safe to be out in the woods at night."

Emily tipped her head slightly to the side, "Then why are you following me out into the woods at night?"

He smiled easily at her considering that she'd just held a knife to his throat. If he thought that she wouldn't use it if she felt she had a reason to, he was wrong – but that smile made her curious. She liked a guy who wasn't intimidated by her, someone who didn't scare easy.

"Because you shouldn't be out here alone," he answered. Emily stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them again, this time minus the knife, which Danny was grateful for as he looked her up and down appreciatively, admiring the view.

"Well I'm not alone now, am I?"

For the life of him, Danny couldn't tell whether she was annoyed or pleased by that fact. But he followed her as she turned away and started walking, enjoying the view from behind as they went. She kept moving, taking a right turn that took them off the path that she'd used to get to the house and going deeper into the forest where the trees grew thicker, covering the ground with strange shadows.

"What was that about, back at camp?" Danny asked. "That fight with Santos, it looked like it was personal."

"She _wishes_ it was personal," Emily scoffed. She'd already put it out of her mind. Santos might be holding a three year grudge, but after she'd been put in lock-up Emily hadn't given her another thought. "That girl is at least three different kinds of crazy, maybe four."

"You looked ready to break her neck."

Emily shrugged. "She should know by now not to pick a fight she can't win."

"So why did she?" Danny's curiosity persisted.

When she turned around, Danny was struck by the intensity of her dark eyes, eyes that claimed and held anything they landed on, before she dismissed it. "She blames me for ruining her life."

"And did you?"

Emily looked up through a break in the trees where she could see a patch of stars that had emerged as the last of the daylight faded. One shone brighter than the others: the Ark. Its light blinked as it orbited above their heads, winking down at them. "Yeah, I guess I did."

* * *

**_Flashback: three years ago_**

_Emily paced across the room like a caged panther, fuming with anger. The only thing stopping her from going out to confront the source of her anger was that her friend needed her there. Iris watched her in the mirror on her mother's table as Emily's reflection passed behind her again. Iris was using some of her mother's makeup to hide the bruising that had come up over her eye. She didn't want her mom to see it when she got home; her mother, Sonja Glass, had enough to worry about._

_"She's been messing with you before?" Emily demanded. She was a lot more worked up about this incident than Iris was._

_"Once or twice," Iris tried to shrug it off like it was no big deal. She didn't like seeing Emily angry like this. Anger was so harsh and ugly, and it could make people do crazy irrational things. Santos was a living example of that. That anger that she had towards Emily, somehow it made sense in her head to take it out on Iris._

_Emily and Santos used to be friends. After they'd met in Officer Training and Emily offered to help her with her fighting skills, they'd spent a lot of time together and found out that they actually had a lot in common, despite coming from different sides of the social scale. It was only later that the crazy started to show, when Santos became clingy and kind of obsessive about the time she spent with Emily – it made her feel important having a councilor's daughter as a friend. And then Santos started getting jealous when Emily chose to spend time with her other friends rather than her, like she thought that was Emily saying she wasn't good enough to hang out with. And aside from that, there was also the way she started to turn every little thing that they did together into a competition – Emily was competitive, but Santos took competitive to a whole new level – like she needed to prove that she was as good as, or better than Emily. Finally Emily had gotten tired of it and stopped hanging out with her altogether. _

_Needless to say, Santos didn't handle the separation or the rejection well. Especially when she saw Emily teaching Iris how to fight just like she'd done with her back when they first met. Santos felt like she'd been replaced, and acted on that anger. Whatever issues or insecurities Santos had, Emily had lost all sympathy for her. _

_"She is in definite need of psychiatric attention," Emily muttered. If Santos had come at her directly Emily wouldn't have cared so much, but going after her friend, _that _was a big mistake. "Why didn't you come to me?!"_

_"Because I didn't want _you_ to get arrested for assault," said Iris. As an afterthought she added, "Or murder."_

_That answer actually made Emily smile. Iris knew that if Emily was there when someone, anyone, tried to hurt her, Emily would hurt them back worse. But that wouldn't do her any good. It would get her in trouble, if not with guards, then with her father. Emily would protect her friends, but sometimes she needed protecting too, from herself._

_Iris was right, Emily knew. Santos and her obsessing was a minor annoyance, but now it had become a problem. She needed to deal with this problem, not with anger, but with a clear head. Out of every skill that her father had her learn since she was a little girl, he'd taught her that self-control was one of her most important tools. And another was her name. Emily didn't like using her last name much, but the name Kane did have its advantages, and this was one of them. She could use it to make sure that Santos didn't try to get back at her by hurting her friends ever again. Guards wouldn't question her word if she accused some nobody worker from Hydra Station of assault, and anyway it wasn't like she would be lying. _

_This time tomorrow, Santos would be in Prison Station and out of Emily's way for good._

* * *

**XXXXX**

It was the end of another day on the ground and people were settling down for the night…but it wouldn't be a peaceful one. Dax leaned back against one of the logs by the fire. He could have taken a spot in one of the tents, but he preferred to sleep outside. It was way less confined. It was definitely better than taking one of the hammocks in the drop ship where he would have to listen to the dying boy moaning all night. Even from out here he could hear it and it was getting on his nerves, keeping everybody on edge and making it hard for people to sleep.

Another loud groan came from the drop ship. If the sound of Jasper dying wasn't enough to keep him awake the people complaining about it was.

"Would that kid just die already!" someone shouted.

The little girl wasn't sleeping well either. She'd curled up next to him, like she'd done for the past three nights, but tonight she kept turning over every few minutes. A small whimper escaped her. Dax looked down at Bo. She was twitching in her sleep, and her feet were moving like she was trying to run away from something. Dax didn't know what was more annoying right now, Jasper dying, or the little girl having bad dreams. When one of her kicks hit his side he'd had enough of it.

"Come on, knock it off kid," Dax said irritably, nudging her awake. Bo stilled. Dax sighed and closed his eyes again. The peace was short lived.

"Is Jasper going to die?" Bo piped up. Dax looked at her and saw that she was sitting up with her arms wrapped around her legs.

"I don't know," said Dax.

"Clarke will make him better right?"

"I don't know." Dax repeated getting more and more irritated.

Bo was quiet for all of thirty seconds before, "Do you think the grounders will come here?"

"Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much kid?" Dax barked at her.

A few days ago Bo might have cringed back and then kept her mouth shut. But she was already scared of the people outside the camp, those grounders that tried to kill Jasper. She didn't want to be scared of the people inside the camp too, not anymore.

"My name's Bo, not kid," Bo snapped back, "And I talk a lot because you don't talk at all!"

Dax sat up and glared at her. He liked it better when she didn't talk. This kid shouldn't be his problem at all, he didn't ask for her to keep following him around. But looking at her…she was just a little girl – next to him she was tiny, really – and she was alone, she didn't seem to know anyone here. And right now, even though the small hands resting on her knees where clenched and shaking slightly, she was glaring right back at him. She was scared, but she was trying to be brave. Fine, if the kid thought standing up to him made her braver, he'd let her have this one.

He slumped back down saying, "Jasper's gonna be fine kid…Bo. The doc's taking care of him, she'll fix him."

"Promise?" Bo asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, promise," Dax said carelessly as he put his hands behind his head. He missed the new hopeful look in her eyes or the small smile she gave him. The kid believed him.

"Okay then," said Bo. She did feel a bit better now. The way she saw it, Dax didn't care enough to lie just to make her feel better, so he must be telling the truth. She lay back down again with her stuffed toy in her arms.

Dax thought that was the end of it, until he was woken up some time later when Bo started whimpering and fidgeting again. The fire had died down so he knew that he'd been asleep for an hour, maybe more. He looked at her, curious; if she wasn't worried about the dying kid anymore then what was she having nightmares for?

He lifted her up gently – she hardly weighed anything – and put her down on his other side so that he was between her and the fire. Just in case her tossing and turning again made her do something stupid, like roll into the fire. She didn't wake up, but her hand started to reach for something that wasn't there. Dax looked around and saw the toy that had slipped out of her hands. He picked it up and put it under her chin; she clutched it in her sleep and a smile spread over her face.

Dax sighed. At least her bad dreams were gone for now, so maybe he could finally get some sleep.

XX

Inside the drop ship, Clarke and Glass tended to an unresponsive Jasper. He hadn't fully regained consciousness in the two days since they brought him back, but was awake enough to make his distress known to the entire camp. Pained moans came from him every so often, loud enough to be heard through camp and to show just how much pain he was in. It was earning him less and less sympathy as the haunting sound set the camp on edge and kept people awake at night. It served as a constant reminder of the hostile grounder who'd done this. And who could be back at any time.

"His pulse is three-eighty," said Clarke. Glass looked from her to Jasper in concern. In the last few days of helping Clarke take care of him, Glass had learned enough to know that that was not good. His heart rate was higher than it should be, accelerated by the pain and stress that his body was going through. And there was little that they could do for him.

Clarke looked down at Jasper pallid face. A layer of sweat lay over his skin. He'd been battling fever, brought on by trauma and infection, on and off since the morning after they brought him back. If only they had some antibiotics; if only the council had given them a med kit; if only they hadn't been sent down here, a bunch of kids on their own sent to die…

Clarke shook off her wishes and 'If onlys' and the hopelessness and anger that came with them. If she was going to find some way to help Jasper then she needed to keep a clear head. Although the obnoxious voices coming up to them – shouts of "We're trying to sleep here!" and "Shut him up!" – didn't help with the anger.

"Don't listen to them." Clarke spoke calmly and quietly as she wiped a cool cloth over Jasper's hot forehead. "You're gonna make it through this, okay? I promise."

Jasper's only response was another loud groan. The fever had hold of him again.

"Can he just die already?!"

"Quiet!"

Clarke did her best to ignore those comments – though she wondered how those people would like it if they got sick and she refused to help them. "I need to get some clean water," she said to Glass. "Can you watch him?"

"You stay with him. I'll get it," Glass said, putting a hand on her arm to stop her from getting up. Clarke smiled gratefully. She didn't want to leave Jasper's side if she didn't have to. "It'll be okay Clarke. He'll be okay."

Glass' smile had a way of brightening things. Clarke didn't know how she did it – she didn't think Glass knew that she was doing it – but her comforting words helped. It helped knowing someone else believed that Jasper had a chance, that she could help him. She wasn't going to give up on Jasper, no matter what those others said. She would find a way to save him. She had to. She couldn't stand to fail this time…not again.

* * *

**_Flashback: one year ago_**

_In the family room of the Griffins' flat, a small gathering of family and friend sat around a big screen watching a football game and keeping up a heated commentary on who was favorite to win. Clarke sat next to Emily, while Wells stood behind them leaning his hands on the back of the couch. All three were absorbed in the game. Clarke and her father, Jake Griffin, were rooting for one team while Wells and his father, Thelonious Jaha, rooted for the other._

_"There we go. There we go!"_

_"See that? Here comes the momentum change."_

_"Defense."_

_"The defense is there." _

_The atmosphere was jovial and filled with the spirit of friendly competition that had persisted through the centuries of sports viewing. This was a tradition of sorts in their families, to watch a season of football each year. Next year they would watch the next season of recorded games._

_ "Serve it up. Yeah!" Jake and Clarke cheered as their team scored. "They're unbeatable." Clarke high-fived her father as they gloated and the two Jahas bemoaned their team's loss. _

_Emily's good mood slipped minutely as she watched her friends with their fathers. Hers was conspicuously, though not unexpectedly, absent. Her father, Marcus Kane, used to do this kind of thing with her too…but that was years ago. Now he was busy with his work on the council, too busy to take one night to do something that they'd all been doing together for years. Wells' father was the Chancellor, but he still at least made a little bit of time for his son. But for Emily, her father's world consisted of his job, his meetings, his daily schedule which he expected to dictate the lives around him… _

_Emily shook off the sudden feeling of melancholy that had assaulted her. She was here to have fun with her friends._

_"Prepare for crushing defeat," Clarke bragged._

_"Ah, it's not over yet," Wells stated._

_"Actually, it was over one hundred and forty-seven years ago," Emily pointed out._

_Thelonious waved his hand dismissively, "A technicality."_

_"Give it up," said Jake. "You're going down."_

_Iris Glass sat off to the side reading form her hand-held vid-screed. Sports weren't her thing, and she didn't understand half the terminology that they were using. But her mother was working late and her options for tonight were either stay home alone, or join her friend in watching the game. The game might not really hold her interest, but watching Clarke, Emily and Wells argue over it was kind of fun. Wells and Emily could get competitive with each other over just about anything, but always in a good-natured way though. Clarke often acted as their referee, but this time, she was just as much into the competition as they were. Iris met them when she was twelve – when Wells had found her alone and crying and brought her home with him to meet his friends – but those three had known each other their whole lives. There were still times when Iris felt like the odd one out. Like now._

_Wells walked around the couch and sat down next to Clarke. He laid his arms across the back of the couch; with how close he was sitting to Clarke, his arm was practically around her shoulders. Iris frowned, but then shook herself mentally. They were all just friends; it shouldn't bother her to see him so close to Clarke. And it wasn't like he meant anything by it anyway. He and Clarke were just comfortable around each other. She wished that she could be comfortable so close to him…_

_Iris felt a prickling on her skin, and her eyes slid over to Emily who was looking back at her. Iris looked back down at her vid-screen, letting her hair fall in front of her face to hide her blush. Emily smirked – it wasn't the first time she'd seen Glass watching Wells with that lovesick look – but she made no comment as she turned back to the game. Clarke was too wrapped up in the game to notice, and Wells probably wouldn't have noticed anyway. For such a smart guy, he could be pretty blind sometimes._

_"Hi sweetheart," Abby Griffin said to Iris as she came in. Iris smiled at her. Clarke's mom was always nice to her, made her feel welcome. No one else noticed Abby until she called out over the game, "What'd I miss?" _

_Thelonious answered, pointing an accusing finger at Clarke and Jake, "Your husband and daughter being obnoxious." _

_"Jake, you better play nice," Abby called to her husband as she set her bag down._

_"Come on, get down the field, fire," Wells cheered as his team took the ball._

_"Waste of time. Waste…" Jake trailed off as Abby put her arms around him from behind. "Hey baby."_

_"Hi." She kissed him. "So, I ran into Bennett when I was leaving the clinic and he has that systems analysis that you asked for."_

_Jake's expression suddenly turned grim. He'd been waiting for that report all day and hoping that it wouldn't confirm what he was afraid of. Exclamations from the three teens on the couch as another play was made reminded him that his fears would be better kept to himself until they were confirmed. And he didn't want to put a dampener on their fun._

_"Ho-ho-ho-ho!" Wells crowed as his team gained the upper hand._

_Clarke shook her head. "This isn't gonna last." _

_"What was that you said about crushing defeat?" Wells taunted. "Oh, here it comes." _

_Their challenge faded to background noise as Jake checked his watch. There was still enough time to get down to Engineering before Bennett clocked off of work. "Okay." _

_Abby stepped back in surprise as he got to his feet and grabbed his jacket. "What? You're going now?"_

_Jake gave her a smile and a quick kiss, "Just for a few minutes." _

_"Everything alright?" asked Jaha, pulling his attention away from the game for a moment._

_"Oh yeah, you know this old boat. It's always something." Jake said flippantly as he headed out through the door._

_XX_

**_Later That Night_**

_"Clarke, get up," Emily said shaking her shoulder. Clarke was lying on her bed having just fallen asleep. Groggily, she wondered why Emily was in her room before she remembered that Emily had asked to stay the night. "Get up! You're dad's back."_

_"What…" Clarke said sleepily. She reached for the light next to her bed but Emily stopped her._

_"No, leave it off." _

_Clarke sat up and blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the dark. She saw that Emily was wide awake, which wasn't really a surprise. Emily had trouble sleeping through the night in her own home, and even when she stayed with her friend, she always went to sleep after Clarke and woke up before her. But somehow she never seemed tired. She did seem tense though as she moved away from Clarke and slowly eased open the door of her room so that it didn't make any noise. "What are you doing?"_

_"Eavesdropping."_

_"Why?" Clarke asked coming up behind her. She could hear her parents in the next room._

_Emily spoke in a hushed tone, "Because your dad was lying before when he said nothing was wrong."_

_Clarke gave her a quizzing look. "How do you know?"_

_"Because I pay attention," was Emily's answer. Clarke and Wells had been fully engrossed in the game; Emily didn't think that they even really noticed when Jake left, but she had. She'd seen his face when Jaha asked if something was wrong. Jake's tone rang false when he said there wasn't a problem, his smile was strained, and there was an urgency in his movements as he'd headed out the door. Something that Clarke and her father had in common was that they were both too open, too sincere, to lie effectively. Whereas for Emily, living with her father and his politics, she'd had learned early on how to read people, and how to control her expressions and body language so that she couldn't be easily read. "And I'm a better liar than you."_

_"No argument there," Clarke teased. Emily shushed her as they heard Abby and Jake talking in the next room._

_"How'd it go?" they heard Clarke's mother ask._

_In the family room, Jake sat down heavily in his chair and turned to his wife with a grave look on his face. "Well…I told Jaha it's definitive. The Ark's got a year of oxygen left, maybe two."_

_"You'll fix it." Abby said encouragingly. _

_"Not this time. I've tried, Abby." Jake took her hands and looked her in the eye, needing her to see the seriousness of the situation. "This isn't a glitch. It's a system failure. People need to know." _

_"No," Abby's face fell as what he was saying sank in. "They'll panic." _

_Jake rolled his eyes. "You sound like Kane." _

_"Because he's right!" _

_"No." Jake got to his feet, too worked up to stay seated. "We can't avoid the truth. We have to let everyone on the Ark put their minds to a solution." _

_"What, and risk anarchy?" Abby said in disbelief. "No. It's too dangerous." Jake just shook his head. "Promise me that you'll obey the council's orders, that you'll keep it quiet. Promise me." _

_"I can't," Jake answered sadly._

_"For Clarke," Abby pleaded. "Do it for Clarke." _

_Behind the door of her room, Clarke moved to go out to her parents, to tell them…she didn't know what, but to do something. Emily took her hand and squeezed it before she could. Clarke looked at her and saw her friend shake her head._

_"I _am_ doing this for Clarke," they heard Jake say._

_As Emily eased the door closed Abby's words floated to them before it sealed. "They'll float you, Jake. If you do this, I won't be able to stop it…"_

_Clarke and Emily didn't say anything as they exchanged a look filled with fear, worry, trepidation. Abby was right about that. If Jake made the truth known, it could cost him his life. If he was right about the Ark's oxygen supply, this crisis would cost a lot of people their lives. No matter what he did…bad things were going to happen._

* * *

**XXXXX**

_If everyone cared and nobody cried, if everyone loved and nobody lied_

_If everyone shared and swallowed their pride, then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_._

Glass came out of the drop ship after bringing water back for Jasper and took a breath of the clean night air. She, Clarke and Monty had been taking turns watching over Jasper during the nights for the last two days. Now she wanted to get some rest so that she could give Clarke a break in a few hours. Clarke was a good doctor, but she wouldn't be much good if she exhausted herself.

Glass was walking towards her tent when she heard somebody cry out. "No!"

Glass moved towards the sound; it led her to the edge of the tent area where a group of children were huddled together. The number of tents was limited, and few people wanted to sleep cooped up in the ship, especially with Jasper in there. The youngest members of The 100 had gravitated towards each other, instinctively seeking safety in numbers against bigger and meaner criminals. However, the bounds of their unity were being tested at the moment as one of their own cried out in her sleep, waking them all up.

"Not again," Max complained. The source of his disquiet was Charlotte, a twelve year old girl with her hair braided down against her head, whose bad dreams had had her screaming in her sleep every night since Arrival Day.

"Charlotte." Carmen shook the younger girl's shoulder. "Charlotte, wake up."

"No!" Charlotte seemed to be stuck in her bad dream, unable to hear them. "No!"

"What's going on?" Glass asked as she came up to them. Seeing the little girl in distress, Glass knelt down next to her just as Charlotte suddenly shot up and looked around in a fright.

"Charlotte was having nightmares," said Carmen.

"Again," Max grumbled as he rolled over.

"Hey, it's okay," Glass said soothingly as she sat down next to Charlotte. "It's okay. It's just a dream." The young girl pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "You know, it's okay to be scared. Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's…my parents." Charlotte sniffled. "They were floated and…and I see it in my dreams and I just…"

"I understand," Glass said. She smoothed a hand down Charlotte's braided hair, and Charlotte leaned into the comforting gesture. "So how'd you end up here?"

"Well… we were taking my parents' things to the redistribution center and… I kind of lost it." Charlotte stared down at the ground as she said, "They said I assaulted a guard."

"I can't say I blame you," said Glass. Guardsmen were not typically a sensitive bunch who would bother to show sensitivity to a young grieving orphan. Charlotte sniffled and wiped away some of her tears with the back of her hand.

.

_From underneath the trees, we watch the sky, confusing stars for satellites_

_We'll show the world they were wrong, and teach them all to sing along_

_._

"See that bright star up there?" Charlotte looked up as Glass pointed up to a tiny light that shone brighter than the rest. "That's The Ark in orbit above us. I think whatever happened up there, all the pain… maybe we can move past that now. Maybe being on the ground is our second chance."

Charlotte looked at her hopefully. "Do you really believe that?"

"I'm trying to." Glass gave her an uncertain smile but an honest answer. "You're going to be okay Charlotte." She put her arm around the girl's small body and held her close. "I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." Charlotte laid her head against Glass' shoulder, seeking comfort from someone when she hadn't had any in a long time.

"Can you sing?" Carmen asked.

Glass smiled. Since she sang for everyone after their first meal, she'd kept singing for them when they all ate in the evenings. And now Glass sang for these children here, for Carmen who watched her with bright curious eyes; Max who rolled back over to face them, even as he pretended not to be listening; and for Charlotte, a song to keep away her nightmares and to let her know she wasn't alone.

.

_As we lie beneath the stars we realize how small we are_

_If they could love like you and me, imagine what the world could be_

_._

**XXXXX**

They'd been walking for hours and Emily showed no sign of stopping. She'd gone quiet since they'd left the old house behind, and something about the silence and shadows made Danny hesitant to disrupt the stillness. Darkness fully covered them now, but the moonlight that penetrated the trees was enough to light their way. The air was heavy with the scent of the white blossoms that only unfurled at night, making the trees look like they'd been dressed for a special occasion. Emily took a deep breath and the part of her mind that had been taught that everything must serve a purpose wondered what sort of evolutionary advantage the strange flowers provided. Maybe they attracted some type of nocturnal insect? Their distinct perfume bordered on overwhelming in the spots where the trees grew close together.

As they kept walking the forest thinned out again and Emily led the way up a steep slope. When they reached the crest if the rise, she turned and walked along it until they could hear the bubble of shallow water moving fast and they came to a stream. The trees weren't as dense by the stream, and the moonlight shone through, reflecting on the rippling surface of the water as they stopped to drink. On the Ark, the last century of filtration and purification had stripped the liquid until it was no more than a collection of hydrogen and oxygen molecules. On the ground, if Emily had to describe it, she'd say that the water tasted like a combination of Earth and Sky. Such a simple thing, and yet it was like a simile for the difference between merely surviving, and actually living.

Danny didn't know this part of the forest, but Emily seemed like she had some goal in mind; she seemed sure of herself as she continued on, her footsteps never faltering. Emily moved like she'd been made for these wooded trails rather than the straight even hallways of the Ark.

"Where are we actually going," Danny finally felt compelled to ask.

"There," Emily said as she pointed ahead of them. They were standing on the edge of a ridge. Just a few feet ahead, the ground sloped sharply down to a glimmering body of water that the stream they'd just been drinking from flowed down into. The moon above was huge and bright, while a second moon trembled just below, reflected in the smooth surface.

"It's beautiful," Danny said, looking down at the sight. "What are you doing?" he asked as Emily started picking her way down the steep incline.

"I didn't come all this way just to look at it," she said without stopping or looking back. "It's less steep over here." They didn't speak as he followed her down.

At the bottom of the slope, Danny hung back, staring at the lake as wonder swept away the exhaustion that had settled on his limbs from the long hike. The surface was as smooth as glass, and the reflection of the moon, dotted with the twinkling light of fireflies that skimmed over the surface, looked like one of the gems that were occasionally seen at the Exchange on the Ark, locked up in a transparent case. Emily let her pack slide to the ground, along with her sword, then raised her arms into the air and stretched. She walked slowly toward the lake, crouching down at the edge and skimming her fingers across the surface. The ripples spread out, distorting the moon's reflection.

Emily took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, letting willing her wariness and tension to seep away. She liked being out here, away from everything else where the only thing she had to worry about was herself. Except tonight she wasn't completely by herself. She looked back at Danny and saw that he stood perfectly still, staring at her with an intensity that made her shiver. That was strange – not that he was staring, but that she'd reacted, even minutely, to him staring. Emily was used to being stared at. As both a beautiful teenage girl and a politician's daughter, she was used to always having eyes on her, people watching her, so much so that she'd grown numb to it years ago. Their stares couldn't touch her. But for some reason, _his _did. And he wasn't at all embarrassed to be caught staring.

To cover up the unease that was stirred up by the foreign feeling, Emily let a mischievous smile slink across her face. Without a word, she shed her jacket along with her knives, pulled her sweat soaked shirt over her head, and stepped out of her pants. She didn't bother to turn to see the look on his face as he watched her walk into the lake wearing nothing but her bra and underwear.

The water was colder than she'd realized, and her skin began to prickle, though she wasn't sure if that was from the night air on her bare skin, or the sensation of Danny's eyes on her. She gasped from the cold and then let out a sigh as the water swept over her shoulders. Water was far too scarce on the Ark to justify baths, even for the privileged, and this was the first time Emily had ever felt her entire body submerged. She lifted her feet from the floor of the pool and lay on her back on the surface of the crystal clear water. The experience of floating in the water brought a feeling of being both powerful and vulnerable. She didn't care that her improvised swimming outfit would be see-through when she emerged from the water.

"Tell me something," Danny said from the shore, the sound of his voice slightly muffled by the water, "Your keen scientific mind instinctively told you that the water was safe?"

Everyone in camp had heard about Octavia being attacked by what looked like a giant snake when she'd jumped into the river near Mount Weather.

"No, but I'm willing to chance it," said Emily. She stood up – the water was deep enough that her toes barely skimmed the bottom of the pool – and her familiar smirk returned as she said, "Are you?"

Emily ducked beneath the water and pulled the tie out of the end of her braid. She stayed below the surface, letting the flow of the water pull her hair loose from its braid and just enjoying it. When she couldn't hold her breath any longer, she popped out of the water with a laugh as the water streamed down her face and through her hair. Her hair looked as dark as strands of ink as it splayed out and drifted around her in the slight current.

"Wow," Danny said right behind her. She turned to face him, and saw that he'd left his clothes at the shore along with hers. His hair was slicked back away from his face. The moon was so large and bright that there was no mistaking the grin on his face. He was looking at her with the same wonder in his eyes as when he first saw the lake. "I think that's the first time I've seen you really laugh," said Danny. At Emily's questioning look he said, "I've been paying attention."

"I thought your job was to pay attention to Bellamy and report what he does back to Thalia," said Emily.

"You caught on to that huh?"

"Only because _I_ pay attention," she said. But she didn't really care about the weird version of politics that was being played out in camp. Emily looked out to where the inlet that they floated in opened out to a larger part of the lake. "Want to go further out?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I'm good right here."

And that smirk of hers was back. "Scared?"

"Definitely," said Danny as something shifted in his gaze, "But not of the water."

_._

_And in the air the fireflies, our only light in paradise_

_I never dreamed that you'd be mine, But here we are, we're here tonight_

_._

Once again he was watching her with an intensity that was worlds away from his usual playful grin, the kind of look that would make any other girl blush. But not Emily – she never blushed. He moved closer to her, but she didn't back away. Emily Kane never backed down from anything. Danny raised his hand and trailed the tips of his fingers down her cheek and to her neck.

"Don't hit me," he said, making her smile before he kissed her.

**XXXXX**

Walking along a narrow trail beneath the trees that might have once been a shallow stream, Trina picked her way over loose rocks while Pascal sauntered on behind her. They'd gone off on their own to get away from everyone else in camp for a while to spend some alone time together and ended up getting lost.

"Come on," said Trina, "I think this is north."

"Really?" Pascal asked teasingly, "Because we just came from that way, Miss I-Can-Navigate-With-The-Stars."

Trina turned back and looked at him accusingly, "It's your fault we've been lost for two days. We never should've gone off by ourselves."

"Come on." Taking her hand, Pascal pulled her closer to him as he leaned back against an overturned tree. "We'll find the drop ship tomorrow."

"That's what you said last night," Trina complained, giving him a cute pout as she put her hands on his shoulders. "And I'm hungry."

"Trina, relax. We're fine." Pascal gave her a reassuring smile as he pulled her in for a kiss. Trina smiled against his lips as she kissed him back. Isolated as they were, it felt like they could be the only two people on Earth.

Trina pulled away as a gust of unusually warm air blow over them, accompanied by a sudden rushing sound, like air moving fast. "Did you feel that?"

Pascal looked annoyed at the interruption, until he noticed the warming air too, accompanied by some odor that burned at his nose. Looking back the way they'd come, the direction the warm air was coming from, he saw what looked like a yellow cloud rolling towards them through the trees.

"What is that?" Trina said worriedly.

"I don't know," Pascal shook his head, baffled. He'd never heard of anything like this in any Earth Skills class, but it had ominous written all over it. He backed away from it, pulling Trina with him. They didn't move fast enough, and the fog came over them.

"Oh! I can't see!" Trina cried out in pain.

"Let's get out of here," shouted Pascal. He reached blindly for her but Trina wasn't there. In the first moments of panic they'd lost track of each other. "Trina!"

"Oh my God, it burns!" Trina screamed. And Pascal was screaming right along with her as the fog thickened, enveloping them completely. They couldn't see each other, but they could hear each other as the toxic cloud sizzled through the air and burned away at their skin.

**XXXXX**

* * *

**Author's Note: I apologize for the very long wait for a new chapter. Please comment and review.**

The lyrics in the is chapter are from _If Everyone Cared_ by Nickelback


	20. A Camp Divided

**Author's notes: **Sorry again for the long wait between chapters.

Just something to note, the XX shows scenes that are happening almost simultaneously, but in different places.

Please review and let me know hat you think of the new chapter and what you would like to see in coming chapters.

* * *

**Chapter 20 – A Camp Divided**

Early morning, and the camp was bustling with activity. There were of course those who were slacking off and lazing around (or still sleeping in). But there were also groups at work moving material to build a wall around camp, collecting fire wood; some were carving spears out of wood tipped with broken shards of metal, or weaving hammocks form vines. Thalia walked with Kayla Shumway through the camp surveying everything that was going on, work that was being done.

"You're taking a hunting party out?" asked Kayla.

Thalia nodded, "We're almost out of food. We have to hunt sometime."

They'd been discussing the camp's need for food verses the risk of running afoul of more grounders. Everyone had stayed relatively close to camp since Jasper's attack. With the deer and the panther that had been cooked for their first meal, they hadn't needed to venture far. The problem was that they weren't rationing food down here like they did on the Ark. For the first time in their lives they could eat until they were full – some people got sick from overindulging – but the result was that all the meat from the first hunt was almost gone.

As Thalia and Kayla discussed where would be best for hunting, they passed a group of girls who were washing clothes in buckets of water. At least, that was what they were supposed to be doing. Instead it looked like some of the girls were using the clean water to wash and do each other's hair. Kayla moved to tell them to stop wasting the water when they needed it for more important things but Thalia stopped her.

"Let them have their fun," said Thalia.

"It's a waste of water," Kayla objected pragmatically.

"I know," was Thalia's response, "Which is why _they're_ the ones on the water crew today. The tank's almost empty anyway." It hadn't rained since that first night. No one liked the job of hauling heavy buckets of water from the stream back to camp, but it needed to be done.

Moving on, they came across a group of boys at the edge of camp who were chopping and collecting firewood. Some of them had taken off their shirts as the sun began to heat up the earth and the exertion brought out a sheen of sweat on their skin.

"Hey Del," Thalia called to one of the boys they walked past, "When you're done, could you get the firewood stacked next to the drop ship?"

Del gave her a nasty sneer. "I don't take orders from-"

"Hey Alby," Thalia cut him off – she didn't have the patience to deal with a moron who didn't listen to common sense just because he didn't like who it was coming from. "When you're done could you get this stacked by the ship."

Alby looked up and said, "Sure. No problem," without any argument and went back to chopping wood.

Kayla shook her head as they walked on. Since the challenge for leadership had been thrown down, tension in the camp was high. There were conflicts over who took orders from whom, people refusing to share food or tents with someone on 'the other side', arguments easily escalated into fights. Kayla had had to break up a few fist fights over the last few days; it was lucky that no one had pulled a knife. Alby and Del were an example of the dissent that had been growing amongst The 100 – Del was one of Bellamy's guys, while Alby took Thalia's side. Thalia didn't seem concerned about any of it. Or if she was, she didn't show it.

"What?" Thalia asked, noting her troubled look.

"Nothing."

Thalia rolled her eyes. She could see that it wasn't 'nothing'. Kayla thought of herself as a soldier, which meant that she believed in a chain of command – down here, to her, Thalia was in command. It also meant that she thought it was not her place to criticize leadership (something that her father had no doubt drilled into her).

"Please, speak freely," Thalia said with a note of sarcasm.

"The divide in camp," Kayla said, "It's dangerous. It could be more of a threat to us than the grounders out there."

Grounders, the as yet unseen enemy that they were all constantly reminded of by the moans of pain that emanated from the drop ship where Jasper was fighting for his life against the wound they'd inflicted on him.

"So what?" said Thalia, "You think I should step down? Leave the camp in Bellamy's hands? Because he's not stepping down." She nodded towards where Bellamy was at the moment on the practice range alone with his head thugs, Murphy and Mbege. "Do you trust _him_ to be in charge here?"

Honestly, Kayla wished that she could trust Bellamy, but following that sentimental feeling would be foolish. Sentiment was for children. The reality was that Bellamy wasn't the same guy she'd known on the Ark. _That _Bellamy had been a good guy. _This_ Bellamy, to put it mildly, was pretty much…Well, he was an arrogant ass. There was no other way to say it. But the real problem was that what was happening between Bellamy and Thalia extended out to the rest of the camp, and it could easily culminate into a conflagration that would not be easily put out.

"I just think that sooner or later…something has to give," Kayla said.

Thalia did not reply and Kayla didn't know whether that meant she agreed with her or just didn't care about arguing the point. Kayla hoped that the other girl saw her point though. It wasn't something she would share with others, not even Thalia, but Kayla knew from hard experience that trouble from within could be a far greater threat than any outside enemy.

That was something else her father had taught her.

XX

On the practice range that had been set up for archery and knife throwing, Murphy scowled as the knife he threw bounced off the tree trunk and landed on the grass. His scowl turned towards the drop ship as a loud pain moan could be heard coming from within.

"It's that damn kid, alright. He's messing with my head."

"He's not gonna last much longer," said Bellamy, "You better find a new excuse." He pulled back his arm and threw his ax. The blade of the ax thudded solidly into the same tree that Murphy had been aiming for. "_That's_ how it's done."

Their practice session was interrupted by Jones and Atom who came towards them with grim looks on their faces.

"We searched for half a mile in all directions," said Jones, crossing his arms, "No sign of Trina or Pascal."

"Visit your special tree while you were out there?" Murphy taunted Atom. Atom pushed back the urge to punch him in his smug face.

"Atom took his punishment. Let it go," Bellamy said.

Atom tried to keep an even deeper scowl off his face. Bellamy and the others thought that he'd somehow gotten himself out of that tree last night after they strung him up. They had no idea that Thalia was the one who cut him down. After what Bellamy did to him, tying him up in that tree just for kissing his sister, Atom knew that he couldn't trust Bellamy to watch his back. Plus, he was holding a grudge. So when Thalia made him an offer – protection on her side as long as he kept eyes on Bellamy – he'd accepted. Thalia told him to play it cool and act like everything was okay so that they wouldn't suspect, so Atom swallowed back his anger.

"It could be grounders," said Atom, referring back to the missing Trina and Pascal.

"Or they could just be looking for some one-on-one time. Lot of that going around recently," Murphy said with an amused smirk as he looked past Atom.

Atom followed his line of sight to where Octavia was at work. She looked up and smiled when she saw Atom, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before going back to her task. Atom felt a fluttering in his gut from her bright affectionate smile, like some of those glowing butterflies that had drifted around them when they kissed had found their way in there. But he didn't smile. He'd been avoiding her for the last couple of days, something that was made easier by the fact that almost everyone had been busy working to make their camp more livable. He really liked Octavia, but being around her now was inviting trouble. Something Murphy took pleasure in reminding him of. Bellamy, who'd pulled his ax from the tree, looked from Atom to Octavia and back with an expression that held a clear warning. _Stay Away._

Atom thought it best to distract him. "Look Bellamy, people are scared, and that dying kid…he's not helping the morale around here." His point was punctuated by another pained groan from Jasper inside the ship. The sounds of his distress had been keeping everyone on edge for days.

"Morale will go up when I find them more food," said Bellamy.

"What do we say when they ask about Trina and Pascal," Jones asked with concern. Pascal was a friend of his.

"No, nothing," said Bellamy, "It's possible they're just lost. Keep an eye out for them when we go hunting later."

"Let's go kill something," Murphy said with another hostile look towards the drop ship.

"No, you're not going. I need you to stay here," Bellamy stopped him as he moved to take up one of the spears that they'd gathered for hunting. "If the grounders are circling, we can't leave this place unprotected."

"Fine," Murphy said sounding disgruntled, "But somebody better tell goggle boy to keep it shut."

As Bellamy and the others walked off, Murphy turned back to his target and threw his knife again. And again, it bounced off the tree and landed harmlessly in the grass. He scowled.

**XXXXX**

For Emily Kane, getting some training in every day was normal, and on the ground, early morning before the full heat of the day set in was a good time for it. Wells was the only one who would spar with her. After seeing her nearly break Octavia's arm and Santos' neck yesterday, almost everyone else was hesitant (terrified) to spar with her. But they did enjoy watching. Emily's smooth, practiced moves reminded everyone that she wasn't just a spoiled councilor's kid. Before their arrests, Emily and Wells had been training as guards - as officers, in fact.

While they were sparing, they were also having a conversation about Clarke – more specifically, about the fact that Clarke blamed Wells for her father's death and hated him for it.

"She's barely said anything to you in three days," Emily was saying. "When you got yourself arrested to come down here for _her_, did you actually have a plan for getting her to speak to you again?" A peacemaker was one thing Emily was not, but this was one instance when she wished they could all just get along.

"I'm…working on it," said Wells, "Baby steps."

The three of them, Wells, Emily and Clarke, had been friends for as long as any of them could remember. He wanted that back. He needed Clarke back. He just wasn't sure how to accomplish that. With his thoughts wrapped up in the girl who he'd risked his life for and who hated his guts, Wells was caught off guard by a high kick that Emily aimed at his chest, knocking the wind out of him, that was followed by a low sweeping kick the knocked his legs out from under him. He landed on his back and looked up at her standing over him as he tried to catch his breath.

Emily held out a hand to help him up, "Two out of three?"

"I'll pass," Wells said as he got to his feet.

"Wow, you really are out of it," said Emily. Wells was as good a fighter as she was – almost. It had been way too easy to take him down. "If you want to fix things with Clarke so badly, maybe it's time to take some grown-up steps."

"Yeah, like what?"

"Crazy idea," Emily looked at him like she was about to suggest something outrageous, "Try telling her the truth."

XX

Danny was supposed to be getting ready to leave with Bellamy's hunting party, but at the moment he stood watching Emily while she was sparing. He was joined by Atom and Jones. Atom, who the others had been giving a hard time since that thing with Octavia, was happy to turn their attention elsewhere and let them pick on someone else for a change.

"Crushing on the Princess?"

"Believe me, that girl is no princess," said Danny, who wasn't embarrassed about being caught staring. He smiled, remembering the time he'd spent with Emily by the lake last night. She looked as good in the bright daylight as she did under the shimmering moonlight. And the way she handled a blade…Damn. That was a girl who could cut your heart out in more ways than one. "Maybe a Warrior Princess."

Jones whistled. "That one looks too hot to handle."

"I'm pretty sure no one handles Emily but Emily," said Danny.

"Seriously?" said Atom, "You could get any girl in camp, and the one you want is…" They watched as Emily took down Wells, "…_That_!"

Danny shrugged and said, "She's a special case."

"Or a mental case," said Jones.

"Trust me man, the girls around here are nothing but trouble," said Atom.

**XXXXX**

Inside the upper level of drop ship, the dim emergency lights illuminated enough of the interior for the people inside to work by: Clarke checking Jasper's vital signs yet again with Finn standing by, and Antonia and Monty working on the communications equipment on the other side of the room. A small fire burning in a shallow metal cylinder added a little warmth to the room and cast a flickering light over Jasper's pallid skin. His temperature had spiked again during the night and his brow and bear chest were slicked with sweat. Glass gently wiped a cool cloth over his forehead while Clarke peeled back the medicinal poultice that covered Jasper's wound.

"The grounders cauterized the wound," said Clarke, "Saved his life."

"Saved his life so they could string him up as live bait," said Finn from his spot leaning against the wall. Life on Earth wasn't exactly turning out to be the paradise they'd imagined it to be. "Garden of Eden this ain't."

"What is that?" Glass asked looking at the area around the burn on Jasper's chest where the hole made by the spear had been cauterized shut. The area around it was red and inflamed, and his veins stood out beneath his skin.

"It's infected. He could be septic. That means his blood is being poisoned," Clarke explained. "Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark?"

Monty, who'd been too busy looking at Japer like he wished he could trade places with him to save his best friend, didn't seem to hear her. Antonia answered, "That would be a firm no."

"My mother would know what to do." Clarke said almost to herself. She couldn't remember a time when she'd wanted her mother's comfort and guidance more… Except after her dad was floated.

"Yeah, well Abby's not here. You're all we've got," Emily said behind her, coming up through the hatch.

"Hey," said Wells, coming up after Emily, "How's he doing?"

"How does it look like he's doing Wells?!" Clarke snapped at him. Wells popping up just as she was thinking about her father didn't help with her already strained temper. After all, Wells was the one who got her father killed.

"I'm just trying to help," Wells said in a placating tone. He actually hadn't come up here to try to talk to Clarke (or get yelled at by her) again. He came to check on Jasper. Clarke tried to ignore Wells as he knelt down next to her. Her brow furrowed in worry as she looked over Jasper again. The area around his wound was septic; if the infection spread, it would kill him.

"Alright, you want to help?" said Clarke, "Then hold him down." Finn and Wells moved to hold Jasper still. Clarke turned to Emily, "I need-" Emily held up a small knife before she finished.

"Sharpened it just this morning," Emily said (her way of being helpful).

Monty's eyes widened when Clarke placed the knife over the fire to heat it. Looking form the knife to Jasper, he gulped. "I'm not gonna like this am I."

XX

Walking through the door of the drop ship, Octavia stopped as a loud groan echoed off the walls and looked up as if she could see Jasper thrashing around in his sleep through the roof. Annabeth and Thalia, who were talking to each other on the other side of the room, looked up as well. Annabeth's face was sympathetic whereas Thalia's was unreadable. That unreadable look turned to Octavia as she came further into the room, and Thalia tipped her head like she was contemplating something. Octavia caught her eye for a moment before looking away. Thalia did that a lot, looked at Octavia like she was measuring her, but she never said anything. Given her rivalry with Bellamy, Octavia might have expected Thalia to be antagonistic towards her, but surprisingly she wasn't. And that was just fine with Octavia. Whatever went on in their power struggle for control of the camp, she did not want to be caught in the middle of it.

Something she wouldn't mind getting caught up in: Atom. He was sitting by some of the supply crates, focused on sharpening a hunting knife.

"Hey, I'm getting tired of this place." She stooped down next to him, put a hand on his arm and said in a sweetly enticing voice, "How 'bout you and me take a walk to the butterfly field?" Atom didn't answer her; he didn't even look at her. A trace of annoyance crept into her voice, "Am I being too subtle?"

Atom still didn't look at her. He kept his eyes focused on the knife he was sharpening. He didn't want to hurt Octavia, but what he'd said before to Danny was true: the girls around here were trouble, especially Bellamy's little sister. Atom remembered that sweet innocent look she had when he kissed her, that trusting look she gave him, how good she felt in his arms… He forced himself to get up, shrugging Octavia's hand off his arm, and turn away from her before he made another mistake and did something that Bellamy would make him regret. Walking out of the drop ship, he ignored her as she called after him.

"Atom!"

"Trouble in paradise?" Thalia said as she walked past Octavia.

Annabeth, instead of following Thalia out, stopped and looked at Octavia with concern. "Thought you two hit it off. What was that about?"

"I think I know," Octavia said angrily. There was only one reason why Atom would be giving her the cold shoulder. She marched out of the drop ship and across the camp to the tents. Reaching Bellamy's tent, she barged right in.

"What did you do to Atom?!"

Bellamy and Murphy looked up from the crudely drawn map that they'd been going over. Bellamy nodded for Murphy to leave. Turning to his irate little sister he said, "Atom's fine."

"Then why did he blow me off?" Octavia demanded.

"Maybe he's just not interested," Bellamy said carelessly.

Octavia wasn't buying his 'I had nothing to do with it' act for a second. "You can't keep everyone away from me!"

"Atom needed to learn: disobey me, you pay the price," said Bellamy. "He paid the price, now we're good."

"Now _I'm_ paying the price," Octavia stated angrily, "So the next time you want to go on a power trip, leave me out of it!"

A scream from the drop ship stopped their argument in its tracks. Octavia whirled away from her brother and ran back to the ship. She ran past people who had frozen in the middle of what they were doing to look toward the ship as another scream, far worse than the moaning they'd been hearing, came from inside.

XX

"Hold him still!" Clarke ordered while she worked with the knife, "I need to cut away the infected flesh." Jasper's screams cut off abruptly as he passed out from the pain.

"Stop it!" Octavia shouted as she came up the hatch and saw what they were doing, "You're killing him!"

"She's trying to save his life," said Finn.

"She can't," Bellamy, who'd followed Octavia into the ship, stated.

Wells stood to stand face to face with Bellamy. "Back off."

"We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die," said Clarke.

"He's a goner. If you can't see that, you're deluded," Bellamy said harshly. "He's making people crazy!"

"Sorry if Jasper is an inconvenience to _you_," Clarke said sharply, "but this isn't the Ark. Down here, every life matters."

"Take a look at him. He's a lost cause," said Bellamy.

Octavia dropped to her knees next to Jasper. She remembered how he'd jumped into the river by Mount Weather to pull her out when that giant snake attacked her; he didn't hesitate to come help her. She wanted to help him now. She had to. It didn't matter what Bellamy said; there had to be a way to save him. Jasper was her friend. She'd never had friends before coming to Earth.

"Octavia, I've spent my whole life watching my mother heal people," Clarke spoke much more gently to the younger Blake. "If I say there's hope, there's hope."

"This isn't about hope, it's about guts," Bellamy said. "You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. If he's not better by tomorrow I'll kill him myself. Octavia, let's go."

Octavia didn't look away from Jasper, whose face still appeared tortured even in his sleep. With her back to her brother she said, "I'm staying here."

Bellamy frowned, but he didn't try to force her to leave. As he went back down the hatch, Clarke smiled at Octavia, encouraging her for defying her brother. Emily on the other hand wasn't felling so charitable towards Octavia.

"Your brother tries to touch Jasper, I will shove my sword down his throat and we can see how he feels about that for 'whatever the hell I want'."

Octavia sprang to her feet. She might be angry with Bellamy, but she wasn't just going to sit there while somebody threatened him. "You touch him and I-"

"You'll do _what_?" Emily turned away from Octavia dismissively.

Octavia was momentarily stunned by the chill in her voice, and didn't say anything as Emily left. She remembered something Emily had said to her on Arrival Day. Emily didn't believe it when Octavia said she didn't care if the people on the Ark died; she said that Octavia was angry at the people who'd locked her up, but that she wasn't cold. Emily _was_ cold…when she wanted to be. You could see it in her eyes – there was ice there.

Monty was still fuming about how Bellamy was so quick to just write Jasper off like he didn't matter. For someone who was so against the way the council ran things, it looked like Bellamy was acting just like them, deciding who was expendable and who wasn't worth saving.

"Power hungry, self-serving jackass. Doesn't care about anyone but himself. No offence," he added quickly, seeing Octavia flinch from the insult aimed at her brother. When they'd all been together, Bellamy had always done everything he could to help their mother and to protect Octavia. She didn't like this new side of him that she was seeing.

"Yeah, Bellamy might be all that," Finn said gravely, looking down at Jasper who was shaking and sweating from infection and fever, "But he also happens to be right."

In the lower level of the drop ship, Glass, who'd followed Emily down, stopped her before she went back outside. "Hey, that was harsh," said Glass. "What is your problem with Octavia?"

"Please," Emily said derisively, "That little girl doesn't even come close to my definition of a problem."

"Then why are you so hard on her?" Glass persisted. People that Emily had a problem with, she usually just ignored them, put them beneath her notice. Her clear and open antagonism towards Octavia was…unusual.

"Honestly?" Emily turned to face her. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word, "I just don't like her."

The truth was Emily'd had a negative opinion of Octavia since Arrival Day when Octavia had looked at her and Clarke with scorn when she'd called them _Princesses_. Every snap judgement and assumption that people had automatically made about Emily her whole life without knowing anything about her other than her last name had been packed into that word, that look. Octavia knew nothing about her except that she was Councilor Marcus Kane's daughter - a privileged princess. And apparently, that was all she needed to know.

_._

_Observing the estate through the gate from the outside looking in_

_Bet you think I got it made, better look again_

_._

Yeah, right. Emily's life may have been 'privileged', but easy…not so much.

* * *

**_Flashback: one year ago_**

_"My dad's right Em," Clarke said, continuing the argument that they'd been having on and off since they overheard Clarke's parents talking about the oxygen crisis. "People have a right to know."_

_"Not if it means Jake getting killed!" Emily saw no point in being delicate about it. "Abby is right about that much, he'll get floated. Marcus will kill him." She used her father's name when she spoke about him; she hadn't called him 'dad' in a long time._

_"They're friends. He wouldn't…"_

_"God Clarke, don't be so naïve!" Emily snapped._

_"You think I'm naïve?" Clarke said defensively._

_"Yes, you are naïve," Emily said bluntly. "Friendship doesn't mean anything to him!" She grabbed her friend's arm. "Clarke you have to listen to me."_

_Clarke winced from the vice grip that Emily had on her. "Em, you're hurting me!"_

_"Sorry…" Emily said haltingly, surprised by her own action. "I didn't mean to do that." She took a breath to calm herself – it didn't help much. "But Clarke…you don't know him like I do... He would kill anyone."_

_Emily could see that Clarke didn't fully understand. She was a good person who always tried to see good in others. She didn't want to accept that the people around her, those closest to her, can and would harm each other. Emily didn't want to believe it herself but she knew it was true. _

_And she also knew what she didn't want to say to Clarke out loud. Looking at her best friend, the real reason that she didn't want Clarke to get involved in what was happening, the thought that was turning Emily's blood to ice was: '_He would kill you_'._

_She didn't want to say it. Because if she did, she wouldn't be able to hide the truth… the only thing that she'd ever kept hidden from Clarke._

_Emily was afraid of her own father. And she hated him for making her feel like that._

.

Everyone thinks that I have it all, but it's so empty living behind these castle walls

If I should tumble, if I should fall, would anyone hear me screaming behind these castle walls?

There's no one here at all, behind these castle walls

* * *

**XXXXX**

"You're leading out a hunting party." Bellamy was heading out to meet up with his hunting party and get going when that voice called out to him. He stopped and looked around to see Thalia watching him. She asked, "What direction are you going?"

He frowned. She had a bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows over her shoulder. Did she thing she was coming with them? Not gonna happen.

Thalia rolled her eyes like she knew what he was thinking. "I'm leading my own team out. These people all need to eat and if we're _both_ hunting, there's no point in two groups trampling over the same ground and scaring off all the game."

She was right (not that he'd say so out loud). And as much as he'd love to work it somehow so that he was the one providing food for everyone and Thalia's group came back empty handed…there was the simple fact that they all needed to eat.

So he told her, "We're heading down towards the lake,"

"Okay," she said, "Then I'll lead my group further up the ridge."

She started walking away when something else occurred to Bellamy. As much as he didn't want to give Thalia another chance to show him up, there could be lives at stake.

"Hey," he called after her. Thalia turned back to look at him. "There are two people missing. They might just be lost but…"

"Trina and Pascal, I know," she interrupted him. (Actually, Atom was the one who told her that they were missing). "I sent people out looking for them _yesterday_." Her tone indicated that she thought that was something he should have done sooner – Trina and Pascal were in _his_ half of the camp. "Didn't find anything, but we'll keep a lookout for them today."

"Thalia," Kayla said coming up to them, "Everyone's ready to go,"

"Good. But you're staying here Kayla. I want you to guard Jasper," Thalia instructed her. "Clarke, Glass and Monty are taking care of him, but no one else gets near him except for Finn, Wells, or Octavia."

"Got it," Kayla nodded, albeit reluctantly. She'd rather be hunting than playing babysitter, but she was a soldier, she followed orders – even orders she didn't like.

Thalia turned back around to meet Bellamy's scowling face. Obviously, Thalia had heard about him saying that he would kill Jasper himself if he wasn't better soon. And she was trying to preempt him, undermine his orders, again. Bellamy opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could say anything.

"Clarke has the kind of strength that someone like you will never know," Thalia injected before he could start. "And she is the only doctor we have down here. Any medical decisions to be made are _hers_. If you or any of your guys try to touch Jasper without her say so, you will have that fight on your hands."

Thalia walked off before he could respond. With Jasper's life on the line and the entire camp to feed, she had more important things to do than listen to Bellamy pretend to be in charge. Besides, they both knew that tension had been boiling up between the two sides in camp. The argument about Jasper could be what tipped the scale as set them all over the edge. And if it wasn't him, it would just be something else. Kayla may have thought that Thalia hadn't been listening to her concerns before, but Thalia knew that the soldier girl was right about one thing: sooner or later, something had to give.

But no way was she going to be the one to give in to Bellamy.

**XXXXX**

Clarke was sitting outside getting some much needed fresh air while Octavia and Monty watched Jasper, and pondering the strange plant like substance that she'd taken off of Jasper's wound. The grounders had saved his life with it (to use him as bait in a trap, yes, but that was beside the point). They must know what kind of plants could be used as natural medicines. Jasper needed antibiotics to fight off the infection, but this was as close as they were going to get. Sadly, whatever good the plant thing had done, it was dried up and useless now. A shadow fell over her and Clarke looked up to see the worried look on Finn's face.

"You're mad?" he asked. She knew he was referring to him saying that Bellamy wasn't wrong, that Jasper wouldn't get better.

"I'm not mad," said Clarke. "If you want to think Jaspers a lost cause, go ahead. You're wrong."

"I hope I am," Finn said honestly.

"What is that?" Emily said as she came up and slid down next to Clarke. Wells was just behind her. Clarke ignored him while she showed Emily the grounder medicine.

"Whatever this stuff is, it has to have had antibiotic properties," she said. "It's useless now though. We need more of it."

"Let me take a look," said Wells. Seeing Clarke's instant scowl he added, "Before you refuse my help, let me remind you who aced Botany in Earth Skills."

"He's got a point," Emily said before Clarke could refuse anyway. And Clarke couldn't really argue with that – Wells had even beaten Emily in that class. Right now, Wells was tied with Bellamy for the person she least wanted to be around, but her concern for Jasper overrode her distaste for his company. She handed the poultice patch to him and watched as he examined it.

"The grounders use it as a poultice," Clarke said. "But I'm thinking a tea would be even more effective. _If_ we can figure out what it is."

"I know what it is," said Wells. "It's seaweed. You can tell by the root structure."

"So where can we find this seaweed?" asked Emily.

"Somewhere with a slow current, lots of rocks," said Wells, "The water would probably be more red than green."

Finn grinned, "I know just the place."

"Then let's go," Clarke said at once. Emily was both amused and annoyed at how fast she picked up her pack and started walking with Finn, happy to be getting away from Wells. That is until Wells called after them.

"Hey. I know what this stuff looks like. Do you?"

XX

Glass watched as Clarke, Emily and Wells walked out of camp along with Finn (Emily had stopped just long enough to tell her that they were going to find medicine for Jasper). Glass tried to bring her attention back to the hammock she was weaving. She liked doing this simple task; she was good with her hands, and it took her mind off of things – gave her something to think about besides Jasper clinging to life in the drop ship, or her friends out in the woods where it wasn't safe.

"Hey." Glass started when Annabeth spoke behind her. Annabeth smiled apologetically for startling her; Glass tried to hide her embarrassment at being startled so easily. It had been a tense few days.

"You know you really should try getting out of camp more," said Annabeth. She'd noticed that Glass never strayed far from the ship, even when her friends went out. "We're going hunting. Why don't you come with?"

"I'm not a hunter," said Glass.

"None of us were, until we had to be" Annabeth pointed out. "And who knows, maybe you're good at it. Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"That's a very loaded question," said Glass. She still looked doubtful. "Emily keeps telling me to stay close to camp."

"You always do what Emily says?"

Glass hesitated before saying, "You always do what Thalia says?"

"Touché," said Annabeth. And then she smiled, "So are you coming or not?"

Glass hesitated a moment longer before she set aside the hammock she was weaving and followed Annabeth. Clarke, Emily and Wells were not afraid of the woods. And she did have to leave camp sometime. And really, what was the worst that could happen?

**XXXXX**

Clarke felt better having something that she could do, instead of just sitting and watching Jasper slowly die. Her sense of purpose as she trudged through the forest on the hunt for medicine that could save Jasper's life was marred by the company she had to keep.

"You should really rethink this whole hating me thing," Wells said, trying for a winning tone of voice that only served to annoy her. "We're surrounded by criminals. We need each other. We're gonna be friend again."

"You got my dad killed," Clarke said. "Not possible."

"This is Earth Clarke. Anything is possible," said Wells. Clarke stalked on ahead of him, trying to put some distance between them.

"Nice try," Emily smirked as she past him and moved on ahead to walk with Clarke. With Clarke and Emily a little ahead of them, Finn took the moment to give Wells some advice.

"I'd let it go if I were you," said Finn.

"Yeah? I've known Clarke her whole life, better than you ever will," Wells retorted. "I'll decide when to let it go."

"Yeah, I can tell you too are close," said Finn.

Wells scowled at his back. Finn being around just irritated Wells more. Maybe because Clarke seemed to like him so much – but Wells tried not to think about that. Finn didn't know anything about him, or about Clarke; they had been as close as two friends could be, once upon a time.

* * *

**_Flashback: one year ago_**

_"__Clarke, you're up. Clarke?"_

_Clarke jerked as Wells touched her arm. She'd been lost in her own thoughts, but Wells brought her back to the present where they were sitting across from each other in one of the reck rooms. She looked at him. From the look on his face, it was clear that he'd already said her name more than once._

_"__Sorry," she said as she looked down at the game of chess they were playing. She picked up a piece on the board and moved it, not really paying attention to what she was doing._

_"__If your strategy is to lose quickly then you're on a roll," Wells said, trying to lighten the mood. He could see that Clarke was upset about something. When she didn't so much as crack a smile at his teasing he asked, "What's going on?"_

_"__Nothing," she said unconvincingly. She really wasn't a very good liar._

_Wells certainly wasn't buying it. He leaned closer to her and said, "You can talk to me."_

_Clarke looked away from his concerned face and glanced over at Emily who was at the next table. Emily was teaching Glass to play Go, some kind of Japanese board game that she played with her mom. As if feeling her friend's eyes on her, Emily looked up, caught Clarke's eye, and shook her head slightly before focusing again on her game. Emily still thought that Clarke shouldn't say anything about what they'd overheard. And for a moment, Clarke felt angry towards her. How could Emily be so nonchalant about it, just do nothing? For Clarke, it felt like keeping this secret was killing her._

_Clarke couldn't hide her feelings the way Emily seemed to always be able to. Wells could see the conflict on her face, and he was staring to get worried. _

_"__Clarke, come on. What is it?"_

_Clarke felt like she was going to break if she couldn't confide in at least one of her best friends. She leaned in close and spoke quietly. "My dad found a problem with the oxygen system. I'm not supposed to know," she confessed quickly, getting the words out fast. _

_Wells' brow wrinkled in confusion. "They've had other malfunctions. They always figure it out."_

_"__No, this one might not be fixable," Clarke said urgently. "The council doesn't want anyone to know."_

_Wells gave her a hard look, "The council meaning my dad?"_

_"__And Emily's dad. And my mom, and others," said Clarke. She was pretty much whispering as she said, "I think he's gonna go public anyway."_

_"__Clarke, he can't," Wells said at once, "He'll get floated."_

_"__I know," her voice almost broke. Despite the argument she'd tried to make earlier with Emily about how their fathers were all friends – that Jake Griffin would be shown leniency if he disobeyed the council – she knew that she'd been lying to herself, looking for assurances where there were none. _

_Still she asked, "But what if he's right? Don't people deserve to know the truth?" A different sense of urgency came to her as she looked at Wells pleadingly. "You can't tell your father I told you. You can't tell _anyone_."_

_Wells could see that she was terrified of what she'd just shared with him. Her fear for all the people on the Ark who didn't know that they were in danger wared with her fear for her father' life if he tried to warn them. _

_Wells reached for her hand across the table. "Your secret's safe with me. I promise."_

* * *

Emily and Clarke were having their own similar argument as they walked on ahead of the boys. "You know what he did to me!" Clarke exclaimed when Emily suggested casually that she give Wells a brake.

Emily was silent for a moment and Clarke thought the conversation was done, until Emily said, "I know what he's done _for_ you."

Clarke was about to ask what exactly she meant by that when they heard a metal sounding thud behind them. Looking back they saw Finn kneeling down and pushing leaf litter away to see what it was he'd just walked on that made that noise.

"What is it?" asked Clarke

Finn found a handle under the debris and pulled. With a groan of rusted metal, he pulled a door open to reveal the interior of a large vehicle.

"It's an automobile," said Wells. He and Finn peered down into the open door. The truck or van was completely buried, but the inside was intact.

"Come on guys," Clarke said impatiently, "This things been here a hundred years. It can wait. Jasper can't."

She and Emily kept walking. Wells, despite his curiosity, moved away from the ancient artifact, and Finn, after another glance inside the truck, closed the door and followed them. They could explore it later.

.

* * *

Author's note: The lyrics in this chapter are from Castle Walls by T.I. ft. Christina Aguilera


	21. Promise Or Prayer

Author's note: The XX means that it is switching to a scene that is happening more or less at the same time.

* * *

**Chapter 21 – Promise or Prayer**

Creeping forward carefully and trying to step lightly, the hunters converged on their target with their weapons ready. They could see the fuzzy brown shape through the foliage and hear the snuffling and grunting of the hog as it dug around in the dirt for something to eat.

"It's mine," Bellamy said softly as he drew back his ax. A good solid throw to the animal's head would bring it down and the others could finish it with their spears. A branch snapped behind him and Bellamy turned on reflex and threw the ax. It thudded into the tree next to the little girl with braided hair who looked at it in wide eyes shock.

"Get it!" Jones shouted as the hog gave a startled squeal and ran. He and the other hunters went charging after it with their spears. Except Atom – he stayed behind with Bellamy.

Bellamy walked up to the girl, "Who the hell are you?"

Turning those wide brown eyes to him she answered, "Charlotte."

"I almost killed you!" Bellamy snapped at her. He pulled his ax from the tree and looked down at her. She held herself stiffly, frightened by how close she'd come to getting hit. "Why aren't you back at camp?"

Charlotte swallowed before answering, "W-w-with that guy who's dying…I just…I couldn't listen anymore."

"There's grounders out here. It's not safe for a little girl," said Atom.

"I'm not little!" Charlotte insisted. Her voice sounded a lot stronger this time, and a smile came over Bellamy's face at her affronted tone. She kind of sounded like Octavia had when she was younger, trying to be grown up. It was cute.

"Okay then. But you can't hunt without a weapon." He pulled out the knife he had in his belt and handed it to Charlotte. She took it and looked at it uncertainly. "You ever killed anything before?" said Bellamy. Charlotte shook her head. "Well who knows, maybe you're good at it."

Charlotte gave him the smallest of smiles, happy that he was giving her a chance at least. Behind Bellamy's back Atom rolled his eyes – letting the little girl come along was a bad idea. She would slow them down, and more importantly she might get hurt. But he wasn't about to try telling Bellamy that – there was no talking to him once he got something into his head. Atom had already learned that the hard way.

**XX**

Glass smiled up at the little songbird as it hopped from one branch to the next. It was the same as the black and white birds she'd seen before in the berry grove not far from camp, the ones that echoed whatever song they heard. She sang a short soft tune and the bird chirped it back to her. She laugh was as light and clear as a bell as the bird took flight still singing her song, and others rose up from the trees and joined it in a chorus.

"Great, now they'll never shut up," Annabeth said, smiling in amusement.

Glass was glad that she'd taken Annabeth's invitation to go hunting; Though she wasn't actually hunting herself (she didn't even have a weapon on her) it was actually nice to get out, away from camp for a while. The cool air that moved under the shade of the trees brought a myriad of new scents with every breath and the quiet out in the woods was refreshing. It took some getting used to, but it was nice.

Thalia and the others in the group had broken off to cover more ground. Glass could see some of the others through the trees; she was staying close to Annabeth who had her bow ready.

"Hold on," Annabeth suddenly whispered, reaching out a hand to block her path. In one fluid motion, she pulled one of the arrows in her quiver and raised it to her bow. Her eyes fixed on a spot where the trees were so dense that it was almost impossible to distinguish the shrubs from the shadows. Then Glass saw it – a flash of motion, a glint of light reflected in an eye.

Glass held her breath as an animal emerged, small and brown with long, tapered ears that flickered back and forth – A rabbit. She watched the creature spring forward, its tail almost twice as long as its body, twitching curiously. _Aren't rabbits supposed to have little, fluffy tails?_ Glass wondered. But before she could remember her old noted from Biology of Earth class, Glass saw Annabeth's elbow draw back, chasing every thought out of her head. Her gasp caught in her throat as Annabeth's arrow shot forward, landing with a terrible thwack right in the creature's chest. For a second, Glass wondered if she could save it – run over, remove the arrow, and stitch it back up like Clarke had done for Jasper.

Annabeth grabbed her arm, squeezing it just hard enough to convey both assurance and warning. That rabbit would help to keep all of them alive; it would help Jasper regain a little strength if they could get him to eat. Glass tried to close her eyes, but they remained locked on the small, fragile, dying animal.

"It's okay," Annabeth said quietly. "I got it through the heart. It won't suffer for long." She was right. The rabbit stopped twitching and slowly fell to the forest floor, then went still. Annabeth turned to her. "Sorry. I know it's not easy to watch someone suffer."

A chill passed over Glass that had nothing to do with the dead rabbit, "Someone?"

"Some_thing_," Annabeth corrected herself with a shrug, "Anything."

Glass wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know what Annabeth meant by that – but she was pretty sure that in that moment, Annabeth was thinking about more than just a rabbit.

**XXXXX**

"So what does this seaweed look like?" asked Clarke, looking out over the river that Finn had guided them to. He'd found it on one of his excursions out into the woods.

"Like that," Wells said, pointing out into the middle of the river where patches of red could be seen growing beneath the water. "Hey, that snake thing that bit Octavia, how big was it?"

"Big," Emily said as she handed her sword to Clarke and shrugged off her jacket.

Finn pulled off his pack. "We can rig this into some kind of net; find something to lower it in to the water…" He trailed off as Emily kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot past him, straight into the river. "Or we can just do that."

Emily waded in until the water was up to her chest and then started swimming with smooth strong strokes.

"When did she learn how to swim?" asked Finn as Emily swam down to where the red plant was growing beneath the water. They could see her indistinct form under the murky water as she pulled the seaweed up from its anchor.

"She's been practicing," said Wells. Emily had boasted that she'd been teaching herself to swim while she'd been exploring the woods the last few days and now, as she swam back towards them, they could see that she hadn't been exaggerating.

"That was refreshing," Emily said as she dragged the large bundle of seaweed back up to them. "Is this enough?"

"That's plenty," Clarke said gratefully. She took the bundle from Emily and hurriedly stuffed it into her pack. Now that they'd gotten what they came for, she was in a hurry to get back to Jasper.

"How'd you know there wouldn't be another giant snake or something else in there?" asked Wells.

"I didn't," Emily said carelessly as she sat down on the rocky shore to pull her shoes back on. "You know, you really should try swimming sometime. It's a lot of fun."

If she noticed the hard look Wells was giving her, she chose to ignore it. But this wasn't the first time that Wells had seen Emily act like she didn't care if she put herself in danger – a dip in a river was minor compared to what she'd done before. He didn't like it. He didn't like that she took her own safety so lightly. Before he could say anything about it though, they were all distracted by a dark mass rising up out of the trees upstream. Birds, hundreds of them, came flying down in a huge flock, sweeping so low that Clarke and the others felt feathers brush their faces as they ducked.

"What got into them?" Emily said once the birds passed. There was an ominous feeling, a tension in the air that wasn't there before, as they all got back to their feet.

"Let's get out of here," said Wells. Before they took a single step, a horn sounded. The long low note rising up sounded like it was carrying across the whole forest; it certainly added to the ominous.

"Grounders?" Clarke said tensely. The last thing they needed was to run into more of those people who'd almost killed Jasper.

"Could be a war cry," said Wells.

"Or a warning," said Finn.

"What the hell is _that_?" said Clarke, looking at what could only be described as a tornado of noxious looking yellow fog that was rolling towards them, coming on fast.

"Run!" said Emily. "Run!" She didn't know what that fog was, but instinct told her to get as far away from it as they could; and that they might have been safer if it was grounders.

They ran back the same way they'd come, with the horn in the distance urging them on; one long note had scarcely died before it sounded again, clearly the grounders' way of warning of the approaching fog. Lucky for them they'd been in the open when they saw it – they'd been able to see it coming from far off so they had a head start. But not enough – the fog was getting closer; it moved like it was hunting them, closing in on them from all sides. The fog was too close; they wouldn't make it back to camp. They ran for the only cover they knew of this far out: the buried automobile that they'd found on their way to the river. Finn reached it first. He grabbed the handle of the door he and Wells had uncovered before and pulled it open.

"Hurry!" he called out, letting the others climb in before he slipped inside and pulled the door closed behind him just as the fog rolled over them.

"It's getting inside!" Clarke exclaimed. Wisps of fog were leaking in through the cracks; the coughed as it burned at their skin and stung their eyes.

"Seal up any openings!" said Wells as he pulled off his jacket as stuffed it along the crack of the truck's door. The others followed his lead, covering any cracks or holes in their refuge, they sealed themselves in, away from this new enemy that prowled outside – acid fog.

**XX**

Charlotte watched as Bellamy and the other hunters moved forward. Bellamy told her to hang back and watch this time so that she could see how it's done; she could help next time. She had the knife Bellamy had given her held tightly in her hand, just in case. Her attention was on focused on watching him through the trees, so she jumped when something moved to the side of her. Charlotte held back a startled cry as she whirled around with the knife held out, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just…well she didn't know what it was – some small furry animal scampering down a tree trunk. Whatever it was, it was fluffy and cute with a bushy tail that was bigger than its body.

Charlotte smiled seeing it, before she remembered that that cute little animal could possibly be food. She looked back to where she'd last seen Bellamy; she could just see his outline through the trees. He'd told her to wait. But…maybe she could catch the animal. It wasn't big but it was something to help feed the camp. She wasn't just a little kid; she could help too. She moved forward with her knife, trying to step carefully as the furry animal moved with twitchy little jerks as it snatched up nuts that lay on the ground beneath they tree. She came closer, but tensed as she stepped on a thin branch that broke with a sharp snap. The animal she'd been watching instantly shot back up the tree, its cheeks now stuffed full with nuts. Charlotte watched it go in dismay. She would have liked to have done something useful, but seeing how fast the little animal moved, she probably wouldn't have been able to catch it anyway.

Her eyes still followed it as it moved upward, nimbly scrambling through the branches of the tree. She suddenly froze as she spotted something that didn't quite fit. At first she thought it was just a strange pattern in the bark of the tree, or a trick of the light. But then several things seemed to happen at once: a loud horn rang out through the forest; the strange shape Charlotte had been looking at suddenly jerked. And Charlotte screamed, realizing that the thing she'd been looking at was a mask, carved to blend into the trees; a mask worn by a grounder who, at the sound of that horn, suddenly jumped from the tree that she'd blended so well into.

"Charlotte?!" Bellamy yelled as he ran back to her, drawn by her frightened scream.

He pushed Charlotte behind him and raised his ax, facing the grounder that landed lightly on the balls of her feet after a ten foot drop. The mask hid her face but he could see that she was a girl not much bigger than Charlotte – which is why he hesitated to throw the ax. At any rate it didn't matter, because the grounder took no notice of them. She just ran, quickly disappearing into the woods.

"What the hell was that?" Atom asked he and the other hunters caught up to Bellamy, catching only a glimpse of the grounder before she vanished. Again the sound of the horn rose up.

"What's that horn?" said Jones. They got their answer as a sudden gust of hot air came over them carrying with it a harsh chemical smell, and they looked up to see the fog that was coming at them through the trees. If the hunters had thought that the grounder was running from them, they were dead wrong. She was running from the fog; that horn had warned her that it was coming, which was why she'd given away her hiding place.

Instinct and fear of the unknown drove the hunters to follow her lead. They ran from the fog with Bellamy in the lead. "Come on, there are caves this way!"

Charlotte hurried to keep up with him. He reached a hand back towards her and she grabbed it like she was clutching at a lifeline. Atom was right behind them, but as they ran Bellamy lost track of the others – Jones, Danny, Samara, he couldn't see them. He kept hold of Charlotte's hand, not willing to risk losing her too. Seeing the shelter they'd been aiming for up ahead, Bellamy pushed Charlotte ahead of him up the rise and into the opening of the cave.

"Bellamy!"

Bellamy looked back at the panic shout. He was pretty sure that was Atom's voice. He was right behind them a minute ago, but now Bellamy couldn't see him. He couldn't see anything with the fog thickening as it got closer, chocking the air. And the fog was starting to burn at his eyes. Coughing from the poisonous air that sizzled against his skin, Bellamy had no choice but to turn away from his friend's cries.

"Bellamy!"

**XX**

"Are you alright?" Jason said as he and the other hunters rushed over.

Thalia nodded as she pulled herself off the ground and brushed the dirt off her clothes. She watched the tail end of the deer disappearing into the brush in dismay and confusion. If they'd brought it down, that deer would've kept the camp fed for another week. She and Annabeth had both had their arrows trained on the animal when it had suddenly looked up and bolted. Thalia would have thought that it was just bad luck, except for the strange fact that the deer had run _towards _them instead of away; they'd had to dive out of the animal's path to avoid being run down by it.

Glass felt her heart racing in her chest; Annabeth had pushed her out of the way when the deer came charging at them. "I don't know much about hunting…But the animals don't usually run towards the hunters, do they?"

"Something must have spooked it," Annabeth said, helping her up.

"Whoa," Jason said, "What is that?!" The others all looked to where a hazy yellow cloud was blowing towards them bringing with it an unnaturally hot gust of air and a sort of sour chemical smell that turned their stomachs.

"That…would be 'something'," Annabeth said. Most likely the 'something' that had made the deer run. And if a deer was more afraid of it than of a group of hunter, that that was enough reason for them to think that they shouldn't stick around to find out why.

"The caves," said Thalia, remembering the caves that were scattered all along the ridge they'd been following. "Get to the caves and stay together! Go!"

They didn't need to be told twice. They all ran for it.

**XX**

Dax stood knee deep in the stream with a spear in his hands watching the water closely for passing fish. He was with a group out to try fishing since they'd finished all the meat in camp. As a flash of silver swam by his leg he struck with the spear, skewering it. The fish wiggled feebly as he pulled it out of the water. He pulled it off the end of his spear and tossed it to shore where the little girl Bo snatched it up before it could slip back into the water and put it in a bucket.

"Ha! I got one!" Del, one of the other guys in the water exclaimed, holding his spear up triumphantly. He pulled the fish off of it and threw it to shore too hard. It hit the girl who was waiting to catch it in the chest. Fox gave a girly shriek and batted it away, hopping form foot to foot. It hit the ground and slid back into the river.

"You just lost lunch!" Del said angrily. "What gives?"

"Uh, it's slimy!" Fox exclaimed in disgust.

"Do you want to eat or not?" Del demanded irritably.

Dax rolled his eyes. Bo was only ten, and she acted more grown up than them. She might talk a little too much sometimes and ask too many questions, but she never complained, about anything. The kid did seem like she was a lot tougher than she looked; if she was hungry, tired, cold, or scared, she kept it to herself. Dax looked to the shore again and stopped. Bo wasn't in her spot. Glancing up and down the riverside he saw that she wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Hey, where's the kid?" he called out to the others who were fishing. The others near the stream shrugged or shook their heads. None of them had seen Bo leave.

Dax groaned; the kid should know better than to wander off alone. He walked out of the stream to find her himself. He didn't have to go far. Dax found Bo next to some bramble bushes. Her pack was on the ground next to her, that stuffed toy turtle that she carried around was peeking out of the zip. It looked like she'd been picking barriers from the bush and putting them in her pack, and somehow had gotten her ponytail caught in the thorns.

Dax laughed as she struggled to pull it loose. Bo glared at him. "It's not funny!" she snapped – a little kitten flashing her claws. "Help me!"

"That's what you get going off on your own kid." Still chuckling, Dax pulled out his knife and cut the branch of the bush that Bo's hair was caught in. Once it was loose it was easier to pull her hair free of it. "How'd you get stuck here anyway?"

Bo looked at him, and then looked past him.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at something behind Dax. He turned around and looked up to see what looked like a giant yellow cloud moving over the trees. And it was coming towards them.

"What the hell..?" Dax started to say.

"That looks bad," Bo said backing away.

Suddenly Fox, Del and the others who'd been at the stream came running through the trees like they were being chased by the hounds of hell. They were shouting, "Run! Run!"

Bo started to run, but then remembered that she left her pack on the ground. She started to turn back for it, but Dax grabbed her arm.

"Leave it!" Dax shouted at her.

"I need it!" she said.

Dax didn't hear it; he grabbed Bo, taking her right off her feet and kept on running. Looking behind him Bo saw the yellow haze catching up to them fast. Her small hands clutched his arm, and she held on for dear life as he ran, hoping that he wouldn't drop her.

The yellow cloud was almost on them, thin wisps of it burning at their skin, when they reached some caves that thankfully were not too far. They were all coughing with their eyes watering from the noxious gas that had nearly overtaken them.

Once inside, Dax dropped Bo onto the floor of the cave, not bothering to be gentle. As Bo got to her feet he yelled at her, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" She flinched back and started to turn away from him but he grabbed her arm. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Bo glared at him; now she was angry too. And after spending so much time around Dax since Arrival Day, she'd learned by now how to shout back. "That hurts!"

Dax was surprised enough that his grip on her arm loosened enough for her to pull away. Bo moved away from him quickly and stalked over to a corner of the cave where she sat with her back against the wall and her arms wrapped around her knees.

She didn't say anything else; neither did Dax. And the others all had the good sense to stay out of it.

**XX**

Carmen and Max lay side by side flat against the ground behind the cover of some shrubs as they watched the trap that they'd set not that far outside of camp. They both held their breath as the long tailed rabbit hopped closer, stopped to wipe a paw over its face, and then made one more hop that put it right where they wanted it. Max pulled the piece of twine that was tied to their trap and the cage they'd rigged fell over the hapless rabbit. The two exchanged a grin and got up from their hiding place. Max carefully lifted the cage just enough to get his hand under it and grabbed the rabbit, holding it down against the ground so that it couldn't run away or scratch at him.

Crouching next to him, Carmen said, "Kill it Max."

Max could feel the rabbit's heart frantically beating in its chest as its tiny claws tore at the dirt desperately trying to scramble away. "I caught it. _You_ kill it."

"Fine," Carmen caught the back of the rabbit's neck in one hand and pulled out her knife. She looked down at the rabbit as she brought her knife under its neck, but something made her stop. The little animal felt soft and warm. It was completely white except for a patch of brown around one of its eyes. Her lips turned up in a smile as its little pink noise twitched cutely.

They were both distracted from their hesitance to use their knives on the helpless little creature by a weird howling sound coming through the trees, like a strong wind…but the air had suddenly gone still. And all the birds were quiet. It was creepy.

"What was that?" Carmen asked.

Max's hands loosened on the rabbit as they saw it, the strange yellow fog moving towards them. The rabbit took off like a shot. As soon as the little creature came into contact with the yellow mist, it let out a shrieking squeal of agony that nothing so cute and fluffy should ever be able to make. Carmen and Max stumbled back, knowing that the wall of yellow fog coming at them was what had caused the rabbit to make that sound. They didn't know what it was, but they were not waiting around to find out. They nearly tripped over each other in their hurry as they turned and ran full speed back to camp.

XX

Kayla didn't know why she'd let Rileigh pull her into this. A few people in camp had swords; Kayla and Rileigh had actually been trained to use them. The sparing practice was good, but it was a distraction to everyone else who should be working on the construction around camp. These people had no discipline and were all too easily sidetracked; like a shiny object in front of a small child, the others watched as the afternoon sun glinted of the swords as they clashed together. There was a break in the fight when they broke apart for a moment.

"You're holding back," Rileigh said with a laugh in her voice. "Don't. Come on Soldier-Girl, let's see you push it."

Kayla knew better than to take her eyes off her opponent, but she could have rolled her eyes at Rileigh's challenge. She wasn't one to brag, but she knew that in a real fight she could beat Rileigh. They'd both gone through the same training; they were nearly equal in skill, but Rileigh's problem was her attitude. She never took anything seriously; everything was a game to her. Of course, Rileigh would say that Kayla's problem was that she took everything _too _seriously.

Ready to be done with this, and to get everybody back to the work they were supposed to be doing, Kayla kicked it up a notch, striking faster and harder with her sword, putting Rileigh on the defensive. Rileigh's mocking smile fell away as she was forced to react faster to Kayla's attack and their sparing became more intense. Both swordswomen suddenly froze – their captive audience went silent – when a scream came from just outside the camp. Kayla and Rileigh looked at each other and then at the same time they ran towards the sound with their swords still in hand.

Kayla, Rileigh and other's who'd followed with their own weapons stopped on the rise that bordered one side of the camp. Everyone's first thought on hearing the scream was that the grounders had attacked someone, but there was no sign of the Earth natives. But what they did see chilled them just as much as the grounders – maybe even more due to its strangeness. A billowing cloud of unnatural yellow fog rolled towards them.

"What the hell..?" Rileigh started to say, but just then two of the younger kids, Carmen and Max, came running into camp shouting, "Run! The fog is poison! Run!"

"Get everyone inside," said Kayla. Turing back to where most of The 100 was looking up at her she shouted, "Get inside! Now!"

Even though most of them couldn't see what the danger was, nobody argued with the commanding tone of her voice. Those who'd been taking an afternoon nap were unceremoniously pulled, dazed and blurry eyed, towards the ship. There was a scramble at the door of the drop ship as everyone tried to get in at once, but then they were all through, just as the first traces of the fog swept into their camp. Some people screamed as even those first thin wisps of the fog instantly burned any skin that it came into contact with.

Kayla was among the last to enter the ship; her eyes were watering and she was coughing, but she took a moment to scan what she could see of camp for any stragglers. When she didn't see anyone else coming she pulled the lever by the door to seal it shut, while others sealed off the air vents and portholes. Moving further into the drop ship and pulled out her water canteen, Kayla poured the water over her face to wash the burning out of her eyes.

People were calling for their friends trying to make sure they were all there; some were shouting, asking what the hell that fog was and when it would go away – as if anyone else had the answers to that.

"What's going on?" Over the clamour, Kayla saw Octavia coming down the ladder from the second level where she'd been taking care of Jasper to see what all the noise was about. "What's happening?"

"The air is toxic. Everybody's skin started burning," Kayla answered while wiping her eyes. "Tandoori, do a head count. Find out how many are missing."

Tandoori nodded, but she didn't see what good it would do. Anyone not in the ship was on their own.

Octavia was thinking the same thing. "My brother's out there!"

"So is Thalia," Antonia added.

"They'll be fine," Monty said bracingly, thinking of Clarke and the others out there trying to get medicine for Jasper, "They'll all be fine."

And though everyone wanted to grasp at some piece of reassurance in the face of this new threat, they all knew that it was more of a prayer than a promise.

**XXXXX**


	22. Slay Your Demons

**Chapter 22 – Slay Your Demons**

Looking up through the dirt encrusted window of the old buried van, Finn couldn't see anything through the thick veil of the burning yellow fog above. "It's still out there."

"We should just try to make a run for it," Clarke said in agitation. "Jasper can't wait much longer."

"Being burned alive in a cloud of acid fog isn't going to help Jasper," Emily said while making herself comfortable. It looked like they were in for a long wait. "And I have no interest in dying today."

"Could have fooled me," Wells muttered. Emily ignored him.

Clarke looked curiously between the two of them. They'd been friends for longer than any of them could remember, and she knew them both well enough to see that Wells was stopping himself from saying something that was on his mind; and from the way Emily was resolutely not looking at him, she most likely knew what it was and didn't want to hear it. Clarke was distracted from that by Finn who'd been trying to pry open the glove compartment at the front of the van. The contents spilled out as he got it open: some papers, an old lighter, and a glass bottle that Finn caught before it could roll to the floor.

"Is that..?"

"Booze. Hooch. Rotgot," said Finn, brushing off the label. It was too faded to read. He twisted off the cover and brought it to his lips.

"Hey, careful," Clarke said cautiously. "Finn, it could be..."

Finn grimaced from the strong taste of the alcohol as it burned its way down his throat, "Whiskey, I think."

Emily snatched the bottle from his hands and took a swig. After it went down, she said, "That's better than moonshine on Agro Station."

Wells looked at her disapprovingly. "Alcohol is toxic Em."

"We're on Earth Wells," said Emily. She pointed up, where the acid fog was still hovering outside to emphasize her point, "Everything is toxic."

"Come on," Finn said with a smile, "It's a time-honoured rite of passage."

Wells frowned at him. "We'll pass."

Clarke, who a moment ago had been looking at the whisky bottle with distaste, turned that distasteful look on Wells, annoyed that he was speaking for her (even though he was saying what she'd just been thinking). She reached for the bottle. "Far be it from me to argue with tradition."

Emily rolled her eyes, but handed over the whiskey. Clarke hated alcohol; she was only taking the drink because Wells was the one who said that they shouldn't. She always did have a bad habit of leading with her emotions. Then again, Emily thought, maybe that bottle was just what those two needed. The drink might just get them to actually talk to each other.

Clarke took a big gulp of the whiskey and coughed as it burned on the way down.

**XXXXX**

"No!"

Bellamy was woken from a deep sleep by a shrill scream. Her jerked up and turned around to look at Charlotte, thinking that the fog had gotten into the cave, or some wild animal had found them, or worse, grounders. But no, Charlotte was still lying on the stone ledge that he'd been leaning against. His jacket which he'd put over her as a blanket had fallen off of her as she thrashed around in her sleep.

"No!" she screamed again.

"Charlotte," Bellamy shook her, trying to break her out of the grip of whatever imaginary monster had her, "Charlotte, wake up."

Charlotte sat up and looked around frightened, before she remembered where she was, and that Bellamy was with her. "I'm sorry," she said miserably.

"Does that happen often?" Bellamy asked. Charlotte sighed, the pitiful look on her face giving him his answer. "What are you afraid of?"

She looked away. She didn't want to tell Bellamy about her nightmares. It had been easy talking to Glass about them last night; Glass was easy to talk to with her comforting, gentle voice. But Charlotte didn't want Bellamy to think that she was just a scared little girl.

.

_And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me"_

_I can't help this awful energy. Goddamn right, you should be scared of me_

_._

"You know what, it doesn't matter," said Bellamy. "The only thing that matters is what you do about it."

Charlotte scrunched her brow up in confusion. "But…I'm asleep."

"Fears are fears," said Bellamy. Octavia used to have nightmares when she was little – and Bellamy remembered something that their mom used to say to try to help her when she was afraid. "Slay your demons when you're awake, they won't be there to get you when you sleep."

"Yeah, but…how?"

"You can't afford to be weak. Down here, weakness is death. Fear is death. Let me see that knife I gave you." Charlotte pulled the knife from her jacket pocket and handed it to him. "Now, when you feel afraid, you hold tight to that knife and you say, 'screw you. I'm not afraid'."

Bellamy handed her the knife. Charlotte gripped it tightly with both hands and timidly repeated the words. "Screw you…I'm not afraid."

Her voice was small and shaky, and she was looking into the dark corners of the cave like she was waiting for the monster in her nightmare to show itself. Bellamy gave her a look that said, _you can do better than that_. Charlotte did her best to swallow down the fear that chocked her, and repeated with a bit more confidence, "Screw you. I'm not afraid."

Bellamy smiled encouragingly and gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Slay your demons kid. Then you'll be able to sleep."

Charlotte nodded while looking at the knife in her hands.

_._

_I'm bigger than my body. I'm colder than this home_

_I'm meaner than my demons. I'm bigger than these bones_

_._

Bellamy lay back down to get some sleep. As he drifted off, Charlotte sat with the knife. It was easier when she was awake, with Bellamy or Glass, or her friends Carmen and Bo and Max. But in her dreams she was on her own. She lay back down, pulling Bellamy's jacket over her to stay warm. She still gripped the knife as she closed her eyes to go back to sleep, knowing that the demon would be there waiting for her.

"Screw you, I'm not afraid."

**XXXXX**

Annabeth jerked awake, every muscle tense like she was ready for a fight, a reflex drilled into her from early childhood, born of self-preservation instinct – A necessary instinct for her growing up, both with her parents and in the orphanage. She sat still for a moment, letting herself relax again while she assessed her surroundings, making sure that nothing had changed while she slept. The opening of the cave her hunting party had taken shelter in had led to a short tunnel that opened out into the wider cavern where they now rested. The cavern had glowing patches of moss on the walls illuminating the area well enough to see.

The others were all still asleep. Jason was lying on his back snoring lightly. Alby and Clarisse were together over by the far wall. Those two had gotten closer since that first time they went hunting together, much to everyone's surprise. Clarisse was…prickly, to say the least. And Alby was stoic, not exactly a deep feeling kind of guy. Somehow they seemed to fit together. How nice for them. Annabeth didn't like sleeping close to other people. Every noise they made woke her; it made for restless nights, though her wakefulness now was caused by no one but herself.

She'd had the dream again.

_._

_I paced around for hours, on empty. I jumped at the slightest of sounds_

_And I couldn't stand the person inside me. I turned all the mirrors around_

_._

Annabeth never remembered her dreams, any of them, but she knew that she'd had this particular one before, many times. It was something from when she was little, she knew that much. It always woke her up with her heart racing, and though she didn't know why, she'd always reasoned that if it was something she couldn't remember – that her mind didn't want her to remember – then it was probably better left forgotten. She tried not to dwell on it.

Thalia was lying against the wall using her pack as a pillow and her jacket as a blanket. Annabeth watched her for a moment. Those meds she'd taken on Arrival Day had helped her, and the fresh air and sunlight that they'd been deprived of on the Ark had done her a world of good. But Annabeth still worried about her, about what would happen if Thalia got sick again. She didn't let anyone else see that she was worried – Thalia didn't want anyone to see that there was anything to worry about as far as she was concerned. Clarke was the only other person who knew.

At least they'd gotten lucky with this cave – it wasn't dark and dank and drafty. It looked like it had been carved out by a river long ago. A small stream ran through it now, pooling in a bowl shaped indentation in the floor before flowing on underground. The warm water of the underground spring kept the cavern relatively cozy.

Glass was sitting there cross-legged at the edge of the pool. She trailed a twig over the surface of the water and watched as the eyeless albino fish came looking for food, attracted by the ripples. A sight glow came from the colourless scales making a dance of shimmering light in the water. The fish ate the glowing moss in the water which is what gave their scales that iridescent look as they absorbed the bioluminescent quality. There was a time when Glass wouldn't have had the slightest clue about the sciency stuff behind what she was seeing. She'd done okay in school but was by no means the top of the class, until she'd made friends with Wells, Emily and Clarke. Part of being councilors' kids, they didn't have the luxury of slacking off, and the time Glass spent with them meant that she got better in school as well. She learned a lot from her friends, and not just in school.

"You couldn't sleep," Annabeth asked, sitting down next to Glass at the water's edge.

"How could you tell?" asked Glass.

Annabeth nudged her with her shoulder, "Because you're awake."

"Oh," said Glass. "So are you. Are you okay?"

"Just riddled with envy," Annabeth said with a dramatic sigh. She nodded towards where Thalia was sleeping. "Look at her. She can sleep through anything."

For someone who was always so alert when she was awake, Thalia slept like the dead, her energy drained at the end of the day. When she was awake her face always held a kind of tension as she kept track of everyone and everything. The way she looked now with one hand resting under her cheek, she looked younger, softer as she slept – a lot less intimidating than any other time Glass had seen her.

"Sorry," said Annabeth.

"For what?"

"I told you that you had to get out more and look what happened. You almost get killed by creepy yellow fog." Something in Annabeth's voice made it sound like she just talking to distract herself.

_._

_They send me away to find them a fortune, a chest filled with diamonds and gold_

_The house was awake with shadows and monsters. The hallways, they echoed and groaned_

_._

Glass looked at Annabeth and noticed that her hands were clenched into fists – leftover tension from her unremembered but reoccurring dream. Annabeth noticed her look and unclenched her hands laying them flat on the soft moss that grew near the edges of the pool. Distantly, she noticed that the moss that grew by the water was different – the moss on the walls was a soft glowy green, but by the pool the green was tinged with red.

Some of the tension must have still shown on her face because Glass asked again with concern evident in that musical voice of hers, "Are you okay?"

Annabeth watched the fish surrounded by their hazy light swimming lazily against the mild current, and gave a vague answer. "I'm fine. I just don't sleep all that much."

"Neither does Emily," said Glass.

Annabeth appreciated a chance to turn the conversation away from her. She liked to talk, just…not about herself (especially when she didn't know exactly what the problem was). "What's the deal with Emily?"

"What deal?"

"Well for one thing, she nearly broke Octavia's arm yesterday, and she looked like she was ready to kill Santos," said Annabeth. "She doesn't really play well with others does she?"

Glass frowned, thinking of the fights she'd witnessed between Emily and Octavia, and Emily and Santos just yesterday. That cold look that Emily had in her eye when she was fighting was unsettling; she really had looked ready to kill. But she didn't.

"Emily just takes a while to get used to people," said Glass, twirling the twig she was still holding between her fingers. "I think it took her over a year to get used to me."

Annabeth wrinkled her brow as she asked, "How could anyone possibly have a problem with _you_?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Glass said with a soft laugh.

* * *

**_Flashback: four years ago_**

_Iris Glass kept her eyes down as she walked into the Exchange. She didn't like being there, but her mother had asked her to trade in a few things for some extra ration points, and with how busy Sonja had been lately, it was the least she could do. Still, Iris hated shopping by herself. Since she'd turned fourteen and had a growth spurt, she didn't like the way the younger guards down at the exchange stared at her when the officer in charge wasn't looking. Or the way a few men stared at her when their wives weren't looking, for that matter._

_Iris waited in the line for the appraiser who would tell her how many points each item was worth. She had some clothes to trade in, a mirror, a blanket, a few other items… A smattering of laughter caught her attention. Iris recognized that sound and knew that she shouldn't look up, but she did anyway. Roma and a gaggle of her friends were nearby. They weren't trading anything in; they were buying. Roma looked around and caught sight of her and Iris quickly looked away. She didn't want to catch their attention either. _

_Iris got through the line and had her ration card scanned, adding the points for the items she'd turned in. Moving away from the line, she cringed internally when she saw Roma and her friends walking towards her from the corner of her eye. Roma seemed to delight in making Iris' life more difficult, to the point where Iris couldn't remember why they'd ever been friends once upon a time. They left her alone when she was with Wells and his friends, but she was on her own now._

_Roma always seemed to find something new to make fun of, such as her clothes which were no longer made from the best material; for a time it had been her hair which was not as shiny and smooth as it used to be because of the reduced water rations that she and her mom got. Iris had cut it shorter thinking that that would make it easier to manage at least, but Roma had made jokes about that too, saying that she'd sold her hair 'cause she had nothing else._

_Lately it was about school. _

_When she and Roma used to be friends they had not cared that much about school. Now, studying with Wells and Clarke, Iris had gotten a lot better in schoolwork. She could answer when a teacher called on her, and even raised her hand to volunteer answers and ask questions, something she'd never chosen to do in school before. She liked being good at it; she liked knowing things. Until Roma and her new gang started in on her for being a know it all. _

_Now Iris just wanted to be left alone. She blocked out whatever they were saying; she did not want to hear their jeering words as she tried to push past them, but they kept at it. _

_"__Oh, please," a sharp voice interrupted. They all looked to see Emily Kane leaning against one of the counters, watching the spectacle like it was a TV show that she did not find very amusing. "Do you really have nothing better to do in your small little world?"_

_The others standing behind Roma shifted uneasily. Messing with the Vice Chancellor's daughter could be more trouble than any of them had bargained for. _

_Roma squared her shoulders. "That's what she gets for being a stuck up and ruining everyone else's day." _

_"__And now you're the one ruining my day," Emily pushed herself off the counter she was leaning on and walked up to Roma who took an involuntary step back before she could stop herself. Emily's voice was like the sharp edge of a knife. "So I suggest you and your little friends get out of my way."_

_"__Really? And what are you gonna do?" Roma asked, trying to sound tough and failing. _

_Roma was as tall as Emily, but she seemed to shrink under Emily's searing eyes that looked her over with an expression that clearly said she was not impressed. _

_"__I could tell my father about how your father has been taking those extra visits to the greenhouse."_

_Roma looked at Emily in shock, and so did Iris. Iris remembered mentioning to Wells and Clarke that Roma's father was the Resources Chief and that her family always had the best produce – though Iris never said anything about theft. Emily had been there too, but it really hadn't seemed like she was listening. She never seemed interested in anything that Iris said._

_ "__I...I…" Roma stuttered before she composed herself. "He's the Resources Chief. It's his job to supervise the greenhouse."_

_"__Supervise," said Emily. "Not steal from."_

_Roma's eyes widened. If her father was reported, he could get floated – and she was sure that Emily would follow through on that threat. It wasn't that Emily was being threatening or aggressive; it was the calm, quiet way that she spoke that hinted at something ice cold just beneath the surface. _

_Roma, trying to save face in front of her friends, tried once more for her haughty air as she turned her nose up and walked away, leading her pose of wide-eyed sheep out the door, leaving Emily and Iris behind. And then Emily walked out, leaving Iris behind. Iris stared after her for a moment and then followed her out into the corridor._

_"__Hey," Iris said, jogging a few steps to catch up to her. "How did you know that about Roma's dad?"_

_Emily didn't stop walking, "Because I pay attention."_

_"__So how come you never said anything about it?"_

_"__Because I don't really care," said Emily. She looked at Iris and asked, "What exactly is her problem with you?"_

_"__I don't know," said Iris. "Everything about me she just finds offensive. You think it would be a waste of her time."_

_Emily rolled her eyes, "She hates you because she knows that you're better than her."_

_Iris shook her head, "I'm not..."_

_Emily suddenly stopped and turned to face her, "Yes you are, or I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you. You're smart, pretty, and stronger than you think you are." _

_"__I am?" Iris asked uncertainly. She'd never gotten a compliment from Emily before._

_"__You stood up to me the day we met didn't you?" _

_Iris looked at her surprised. She remembered that day very clearly. It had been clear that Emily hadn't wanted her there intruding on the time she spent with her friends, but Iris had met her eye and refused to look down. Emily no longer looked at her like she was an intruder, but still she was far from warm and welcoming. Iris always tried not to take it personally; from what she could tell, Emily was like that with everyone – except Wells and Clarke._

_ "__I've seen you around school, even before we met," Emily continued. "People noticed you; they liked you. Roma was jealous of that. Standing next to you made her feel insecure, so when she got the chance to tear you down, she did." _

_Iris looked at her in wide eyed surprise. She had no idea that Emily had noticed much about her at all. Most of the time it felt like Emily only tolerated her being around because Wells and Clarke invited her. _

_Emily kept talking, "If you chop off your hair, dumb down your school work, and keep letting them get to you, then all you've done is made yourself ugly, stupid and weak. You're better than that. You're better that her."_

_Emily wasn't giving her a compliment; she was just stating what she thought were facts and Iris was shocked by this sudden show of open truth from her. She also realized that this was probably the longest conversation she'd had with Emily alone. Iris had never really hung out with Emily alone before, part of the reason for that being that the two were pretty much complete opposites. _

_Iris' petite, curvy frame was a total contrast to Emily's tall willowy-muscled slimness, just as her curly/wavy light blonde hair contrasted with Emily's, whose was long smooth and jet black. But more than looks, it was the expressions they wore, and the way the each carried themselves that set them apart from each other. Iris's expressive green eyes gave away everything that she was feeling; Emily's showed nothing unless she wanted them to, she knew how to perfectly project whatever emotion she needed, and to those who didn't know her it was impossible to tell whether or not the emotion was genuine. _

_Something else vastly different about them: When people stared at Emily and watched her as she walked past, she didn't shrink from the attention – in fact, she seemed entirely indifferent to it. Iris didn't like drawing attention to herself or having eyes on her. Right now she started to fidget under Emily's scrutiny._

_"__Why are you looking at me like that?" Iris asked warily._

_Emily smirked, "You are so…harmless." _

_While Glass thought that was a good thing – why would she want to cause anyone harm? – the way Emily said it made it sound like it was an inconvenience. Without warning, Emily started walking again. _

_"__Come on Glass."_

_Iris followed her, walking quickly to keep up. "Where are we going?"_

_"__I'm gonna teach you how to not be such a pushover." _

* * *

Glass and Annabeth sat in companionable silence, listening to the gentle music of the stream as it bubbled out of one wall and gathered in the pool before flowing out through the other. They watched as the fish swam through the pond, their gentle glowing light moving in a hypnotic dance. Glass's smile disappeared as Annabeth reached forward to trail her fingers through the water.

"Careful!" Glass caught her hand before she could touch the surface. Annabeth looked up, surprised by her sudden outburst in the quiet cave – and by her quick reflex, "Watch."

Glass trailed the twig over the surface of the pool again, the ripples drawing the fish close to them. Glass drew her hand back as they bobbed near to the surface looking for food. Some of the fish were no bigger than her pinky finger, but others were as long as her forearm, and as their hungry mouths gulped open and close, the girls could see the razor sharp teeth perfect for picking meat from bone. That explained why the moss around the water was stained red with blood.

**XXXXX**

Hours had passed, darkness had fallen, and the acid fog still showed no sign of letting up. Clarke, Finn, Emily and Wells sat in the old buried van, slightly buzzed from the hundred-year-old whiskey they'd been drinking – well, except for Wells who still refused to drink the alcohol. Finn had been amusing himself by digging through all the pockets and compartments of the old van for whatever treasures he could find. So far, aside from the bottle of whisky (half of which was gone now), he'd come up with a lighter that still worked, a half finished pack of moldy cigarettes, a few pens, some broken CDs, a pair of dice that used to hang from the mirror, the cracked mirror itself, an unopened deck of cards that was in pretty good shape, a tattered paperback book that had a black cover with a picture of a red apple being held out cupped in someone's hands, and his latest find, a slightly squashed old candy bar.

"An eternal question: Do Twinkies last forever?" said Finn. He held it out to Wells. "I dare you to take a bite."

Wells was not amused. Neither was Clarke, but for a different reason. "It's been hours. Jasper-"

"Is in good hands," Finn said as he settled down across from her in the limited space of the van. "Octavia will take care of him."

"Yeah, that's reassuring," Emily drawled sarcastically, taking a swig of whiskey.

"While we're on the subject…" Clarke slurred her words a bit. "Why is everyone thinking me wanting Jasper…to _not_ die…is a bad thing? Like I'm such a downer. I can be fun…Yeah."

"Depending on the circumstances," said Emily. She smiled, amused at how the alcohol was clearly impacting Clarke who had a very low tolerance for such things.

Clarke pouted at her like a petulant child and looked to Finn, "You think I'm fun, right?"

"Oh yeah," Finn said quickly, "…Among other things."

"You're fun," Wells stated defensively against Finn's comment, perhaps harder than he needed to. Trying to smooth things over he said, "You remember that time-"

"Remember that time you betrayed me and got my father executed?" Clarke steamrolled over him, "Yeah, I remember."

_Uh oh, here comes the buzz kill_, Emily though morosely, irritated at the tension between her two best friends that was mounting yet again. It seemed that every time Wells opened his mouth around Clarke, it just made things worse.

"Where were we?" Clarke said distractedly to Finn, "Oh yeah…Fun." Whatever Clarke was going to say to Finn apparently flitted out of her head; her tipsy attention snapped back to Wells. "Well, since you brought it up…and I didn't…because I don't want to talk about it…What were you thinking?"

"Yeah Wells, what _were_ you thinking?" said Emily. Clarke was apparently too drunk to notice the heavy amount of sarcasm dripping from Emily's voice. Wells shot a quick warning look at Emily not wanting to have the same argument with her again that they'd had just that morning about his choice.

_._

_I'm breathing in and breaking down. I feel my time is running out_

_The fire in my heart will burn me to the ground_

_._

"I made a mistake, Clarke."

"'I made a mistake, Clarke'?" she repeated, nowhere near satisfied with his non-answer. "Not good enough." Her voice choked up and she looked like she was close to tears. She wiped at her face, getting angry at the tears that hadn't even yet fallen. She turned that anger on Wells and suddenly she didn't sound so drunk. "You know…I bet you couldn't wait to run to daddy. Tell him everything, so that he'd finally believe you were the perfect son he always wanted!"

"Perfect," Emily scoffed at that, her voice taking on a harder edge. She was really starting to get tired of this argument. "I really hate that word." She looked at Clarke and gave a humourless laugh. "_You_ were the one who was always...Perfect. Your dad always told you what you did right, why he was _so_ proud of you. Wells, his dad told him what he needed to do better, to make him proud. And my dad…only ever told me what I did wrong. Why I was such a fucking disappointment."

In the lottery for supportive parenting and the unconditional love of a father, Clarke was the one out of the three of them who won the jackpot.

"Em, I think you've had enough," Wells said, trying to take the whiskey away from her.

She jerked it out of his reach; she didn't think she'd had enough. It wasn't the alcohol making her talk like this. Emily could hold her liquor better than Clarke, but really, she didn't feel like putting in the effort…always so much effort not to say what she was thinking, feeling…when she bothered to feel anything that is.

Through the haze of a mix of alcohol, anger and grief that was currently clouding Clarke's mind, she tried for words to comfort her friend. "You dad loves you Em."

"You can't love someone you don't know," Emily said almost indifferently. Her father didn't know her, he didn't see who she was, and he doesn't want to…He's never even tried. He only saw what he wanted her to be. And he wanted her to be like him.

And Clarke – sweet, kind-hearted, naïve, trusting Clarke – always there with her reassurances whenever Emily felt like doing something that might have landed her in prison sooner rather than later. And Emily had never once told her how god damn annoying it was to listen to little miss 'always see the good in people' even when it doesn't exist. Emily didn't want to listen to anymore false assurances about her relationship with her father. And she was so tired of being stuck in the middle of this argument between her and Wells that shouldn't even be happening in the first place. Suddenly she was angry at both of them for letting their friendship come to this.

"You and your father were two of a kind, always whining about how unfair life is. It may have escaped your notice Clarke, but life isn't fair." Emily gave Clarke a very pointed look, "Your mother sure as hell knows that."

"Em, that's enough!" Wells wanted to stop her before she said something that couldn't be taken back. Clarke beat him to it. At first shocked by her friend's harsh word, she quickly recovered.

"You know it's really funny that you hate your dad so much since you're _just like him_," Clarke yelled back at her, her voice rising with her anger in contrast to Emily who, despite her harsh words still sounded deceptively calm. "When we found out that the Ark was dying, you didn't want to do anything about it. You didn't want to help my dad," Clarke shook her head like she didn't understand her own words, "You don't feel anything…you didn't care."

"I cared about _you_ not dying," Emily said like she was explaining something to a small child.

_._

_I did my part, I tried my best. The things I'm fighting to protect _

_Always shatter into pieces in the end_

_._

"Too bad you don't care about yourself not dying," Wells said tersely.

Emily rolled her eyes, "Don't start."

"You would have gotten yourself killed Em!" Wells exclaimed in bewilderment and anger. "Getting yourself arrested, wandering the woods at night, jumping in a river when you don't know what's in it… Do you even care if you live or die?"

"Not particularly," she said in a dispassionate tone.

Finn's eyes went from face to face as he sat very quietly in his corner of the truck trying not to intrude on the very personal argument between these lifelong friends.

Clarke looked between them in confusion until what they were talking about got through the alcohol in her system. "_That's_ how you ended up in the Skybox? You wanted to be arrested? They would have killed you Em!"

And at that point, after Clarke was arrested and then Glass…Her best friends, the only people she really cared about sent to prison, most likely to be executed when they turned eighteen…executed on _her_ father's orders… Emily had been too angry to care about anything else. Her father constantly lectured her to behave, not to cause a disruption or do something to hurt his reputation. He was right about that in the end; her getting arrested at least caused some discomfort for him in his seat on the council.

"Well maybe you got it right the first time. I just didn't care." Emily was good at not caring; not caring hurt less. "Something my father taught me: An open heart bleeds freely. Just look at you two."

_._

_I'm broken and I'm barely breathing. I'm falling cause my heart stopped beating_

_This is how it all goes down tonight. This is what it's like when we collide_

_._

"Not everyone can be some totally unfeeling machine," said Clarke. She turned a look on Wells that brought the phrase if looks could kill to mind, "Though some people are better at it than others."

"What do you want me to say?!" he yelled. This whole détente had come full circle.

Clarke's face crumbled like a lost vulnerable child. "I want an explanation."

"Oh, I think we'd all like to hear that one," said Emily.

"I can't give you one." Wells' anger drained away as quickly as it had come and he too sounded like a child, lost. "I thought I could trust him."

"Well, I thought I could trust my best friend," Clarke said bitterly. "Guess we were both wrong."

_._

_I'm pumping blood, I'm running dry. My heart's been beating overtime_

_To help this broken body live another night_

_._

"I'm still your friend," Wells said, desperate for her to believe at least that.

"No you're not," Clarke denied in a broken voice (broken by grief or by the alcohol, it was hard to say). "If you were really my friend, you'd walk out into that fog and never come back."

Finn, who'd listened to all of this without comment, feeling like a trespasser on the years of history that these three had with each other, thought that now was a good time to try to calm thing down, "Okay, how about we all just… take it easy."

Clarke shot a disparaging look at him, "I have no idea how to do that."

"Stay out of it Spacewalker," Emily snapped. She looked at Wells who had a sad defeated look on his face. It was pathetic. To Wells, Clarke's words felt like knives stabbing into his chest. Emily nudged his arm with the bottle of booze, and this time he took it. He felt the welcome burn of the alcohol as it trailed down his throat and settled in his stomach.

_._

_Battle cries, the damage done. Who has lost and who has won?_

_Who will be there when my life support is gone?_

_._

"So…" said Finn, searching for any way to break the awful tension that enveloped them, "we having fun yet?"

There was no answer to that. The bottle of whiskey was passed around on into the night until it was empty.

**XXXXX**

Bo woke up in the middle of the night feeling not right. Her stomach was hurting, and she was shivering – which was strange because the cave actually wasn't that cold. She usually slept curled up next to Dax, but he was on the other side of the cave. She was alone. Is that why she felt so cold now? But if it was so cold…why was she sweating?

Bo felt more shivers go through her, except they felt more like tremors, and her stomach still hurt. She wrapped her arms around herself trying to make it go away. She thought that maybe she should tell the others that something was wrong, that she felt sick, but her mind drifted again before she could call out to anyone…

Dax couldn't sleep. Somebody was snoring and the sound echoed in the cave. He sat up and pulled a flashlight form his bag to find which one of the others was snoring and tell them that he would throw them out into the fog if they kept him awake.

But when he turned on the light, his eyes went to Bo, still in the corner by herself. It looked like she was curled in on herself even more than usual with her arms wrapped around her sides. If the kid wanted to sulk all night, fine. Not his problem. Except…she looked like she was shivering. Was she cold? Dax shook his head, shrugging off the unwanted flicker of concern.

Whatever was wrong, the kid wasn't complaining about it. She never did.

**XXXXX**

The nearly 100 teens taking shelter inside the drop ship from the acid fog were not happy with their accommodations. It was hot with so many bodies crammed together for hours and the air was stifling with all the vents closed. People slept (or tried to) in the seats that were not made for relaxation, or in hammocks that were strung up, or on the cold hard metal floor with the few blankets that they'd been able to grab. There was a constant rumble of discontented complaints and mutterings, punctuated ever so often by the painful moans coming from Jasper up in the third level that echoed through the ship.

"That's it. I'm ending this," Murphy suddenly exclaimed, getting up from his hammock.

"Bellamy gave him until tomorrow," somebody's concerned voice called out.

Murphy didn't bother looking to see who it was as he moved towards the ladder, not caring when he stepped on someone's hand along the way. "Yeah, well Bellamy's not here. He's dying anyway. I'm just getting it over with."

Monty, who'd been curled up with a blanket near the base of the ladder, unable to sleep from fear about Jasper, jumped up, leapt over someone sleeping on the floor who was in his way and started climbing. He heard Murphy shout behind him – "Don't even think about it Monty!" – as he climbed up after him, but Monty didn't stop.

He got through the hatch and shouted to Octavia, "Murphy's gonna kill Jasper!" as he slammed the hatch door shut, almost on top of Murphy's head.

Octavia was on her feet in an instant, "Don't let him in!"

Monty really didn't need to be told that. It was his best friend's life on the line here; he wouldn't let Murphy anywhere near Jasper.

"The door locks from the other side!" Monty exclaimed. As Octavia frantically searched for something they could use to block it, Monty did the only thing he could do. He sat on top of the hatch, clinging onto the ladder to anchor himself so that Murphy couldn't shake him off as he pushed against the door from below. "No rush! I'm fine here!"

Octavia came back with a broken metal pipe that must have come loose when the ship crashed. Monty shifted out of the way enough for her to jam it beneath the handle of the door and one of the rungs of the ladder to keep it shut. They could hear Murphy raging at them, but at least he couldn't get through.

"Open the door Monty! I'm gonna kill that kid!" Murphy raged from the top of the ladder just beneath the hatch. "Let me in! Open the-" His ranting stopped abruptly as someone grabbed his leg and pulled him down hard. He fell of the ladder landing hard on the metal floor. He tried to get to his feet and was hit soundly on the back of the head with a solid blow that knocked him out cold.

Kayla looked down at Murphy as he crumpled at her feet. With him, less was more.

Unfortunately, with such a restless, stress filled night and tempers running high, it only took a spark to light things up. Murphy was that spark that set everyone else off. Others started shouting; complaining about Jasper, about the fog outside, about God knows what else as actual words got lost in the cacophony of malcontent.

Murphy's friend John Mbege was one of the loudest, saying that they should get rid of Jasper. Rileigh challenged him, "How about I put my sword through you and we see if anyone here even _tries_ to save your life?"

"Rileigh!" Kayla tried to get her to back down before she followed through on that threat.

While more people joined in the argument, Antonia climbed the ladder and knocked on the hatch door. "Octavia, Monty, are you okay in there?"

"We're fine," Octavia's reply was muffled by the door. "What's happening?"

Antonia looked down at the shouting match that looked like it could come to blows at any moment, or worse, if any weapons came out.

"Bellamy said if he's not better he dies!"

"Thalia said nobody touches him!"

Antonia rolled her eyes and called up to Octavia, "Just take care of Jasper. Keep the door closed until morning."

She slid back down the ladder and moved off to the side, out of the way of the escalating mob to stand beside Tandoori who was watching the frenzy with an almost bored expression. People were taking sides and ganging up on each other, some of them arguing just for the sake of arguing. Antonia shook her head. There was no reason or logic in this; this was just stress and fear and the ugly side of human nature showing itself. This was why she liked working with computers more than people.

"This is madness," said Antonia.

Tandoori just shrugged. "This is politics."

**XXXXX**

* * *

**Author's note:** The song lyrics featured in this chapter are from_ Control_ by Halsey, and _Bring Me Back To Life_ by Extreme Music

Please review :)


	23. Making Hard Choices

**Chapter 23 – Making Hard Choices**

"Alright, it's clear," Del said form the mouth of the cave.

It was morning, just after dawn, and he and Fox had played rock paper scissors to see who would go out and check that the freaky burning fog was gone. (Del lost, demanded to play two out of three, and then Dax threatened to hit him with a rock if he didn't do it.) With some grumbling about what a pain it was to sleep on a cave floor, everyone picked up their things to leave. Everyone except Bo – she was still curled up in her corner.

"Hey kid, come on, time to go," Dax called to her. Bo didn't stir. "You still pouting?"

Dax said walking over to her. She didn't answer. He reached for her shoulder and turned her over, but Bo still didn't respond. Her eyes were closed, and now he was starting to worry when he saw that she was breathing strange, taking shallow gasping breaths.

"Kid?" Dax said shaking her. "Bo!" But Bo didn't wake up. And he suddenly realized that her skin felt hot, a lot hotter than it should be. "Hey," Dax called to the others in the cave, "Hey, I need some help over here!"

"What's wrong with her?" one of the others asked.

"She's sick or something," someone answered. Dax barely hear them as he scooped Bo up into his arms.

"We should get her back to Clarke," said Fox.

But Dax was already headed out of the cave, and then he was running back towards camp. He didn't stop to wait for the others; he just ran, all the while listening to Bo's shallow breathing which was the only thing that showed that the little girl who kept following him around was still alive…

**XXXXX**

Clarke opened the automobile door a crack and peered out, wary of any lingering traces of the acid fog, before pushing it all the way open and sticking her head above ground.

"The fog's cleared. Come on," she said, clambering unsteadily onto solid ground.

Though it would have been nice to stay put for a while and slept off the whiskey induced headaches that they'd woken up with, the others followed Clarke out of the van into the piercing early morning sunlight.

"Let's go!" she urged them, "Jasper's waiting."

"She's back to being a one track mind," Emily grumbled. Clarke's get-up-and-go after the emotional blowout last night was annoying. Emily almost preferred drunken Clarke to stubborn single-minded Clarke.

Meanwhile, as Clarke began leading the trek back to camp, she was using the full force of that stubborn single-mindedness to avoid thinking about all that had been said the night before.

How had they come to this?

* * *

**_Flashback: one year ago_**

_"…__In this time of uncertainly, we will come together as a people. I'm telling you this because we must know the truth, and because I want a future for my child and yours. Be strong."_

_Jake Griffin stopped the message he was recording and rubbed a hand over his face. The weight of the crisis that faced him, that faced everyone on the Ark, sat heavily on his shoulders. He truly hoped his faith in the better nature of people was warranted._

_"__You're going to disobey the council?"Jake was startled to hear his daughter's voice behind him as Clarke walked into the room. "Dad, I know. I heard you and mom!"_

_"__Okay, you know." Jake sighed."I've been thinking about this a long time. The people have a right to know. Your mother doesn't understand."_

_"__What's the plan?" Clarke asked._

_Jake smiled at his daughter's intrepidness, but he didn't want her tangled up in this mess. "You don't need to know what the plan is."_

_"__Well, you're making a video. So…what? You're gonna break into the communications mainframe?" Clarke looked at him in disbelief when he didn't deny it, "Making you either suicidal, or incredibly dumb!"_

_"__Wow, you picked a hell of a time to start acting like a typical teenager."_

_"__I gonna help you," she declared._

_"__No!" Jake got up from his chair and walked over to her, "No, Clarke, you're not."_

_"__But I can-"_

_"__Absolutely not!" Jake yelled, startling her. Her dad never yelled. "No," he shook his head and pulled her into a hug. Clarke sank into the familiar warmth and comfort of her father's arms. "No baby."_

_Jake pulled back and looked at his daughter. Clarke had a stubborn set to her face that he recognized all too well – it was a look that she'd mastered from the age of six. "You get that stubborn streak from your mother, you know." He kissed her cheek. "One of the many things I love about both of you."_

_The door to their flat suddenly burst open and a team of armed guards streamed in._

_"__Dad?" Clarke cried out in alarm._

_"__Jake Griffin, you are under arrest for treason," the lead guard pronounced as they seized Jake. A guard roughly pulled Clarke out of the way._

_"__Get your hands off of her!" Jake yelled as they handcuffed him, more concerned for his baby girl than for himself._

_"__Let me go!" Clarke pulled away from the guard and ran to her father, throwing her arms around him. "I'll warn them. I'll find a way."_

_"__No, Clarke, no listen to me," Jake said urgently as the guards pulled them apart, "Do not…Do not do that."_

_"__Get off of me! Let me go!" Clarke yelled at the two guards restraining her as she watched the others pull Jake away. She struggled against them desperately, needing to get to her father. "No, let me go! Dad! Dad!"_

_Tears streamed down her face, tears of grief, fear, frustration, helplessness…and anger…betrayal. The betrayal of the person who'd turned her father in, who'd sent the guards to arrest him. That kind of betrayal could never be forgiven._

* * *

**XXXXX**

"All clear," said Bellamy.

Charlotte stepped out of the cave to stand beside him as Bellamy looked around wondering where the rest of the hunting party had gone to. He hoped that they'd all made it to shelter. They needed to find the others and get back to camp to check on things there.

"Anybody out here?" Bellamy called out, "Danny? Jones?"

"We're here," an answer came from further down the path. Bellamy followed the sound with Charlotte sticking close to him. Going around the bend he was relieved to see the other hunters coming up the path towards him unharmed.

"Lost you in the stew," said Bellamy, glad to see them. "Where'd you go?"

"We made it to a cave back there," Danny jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" asked Jones.

"I don't know," said Bellamy. He looked over the group; one was missing, "Where's Atom?"

Jones exchanged an uncertain glance with Danny and Samara. "We thought he was with you."

**XXXXX**

"Where are you right now?" Annabeth started at the question and looked up to see Thalia watching her as they walked. "You looked like your mind was back in orbit. Something wrong?"

"No," said Annabeth. In the clear bright light of day, it was hard to imagine that the deadly burning fog had rolled in less than twelve hours ago. She shook her head, "No, I just didn't get much sleep."

"The dreams again?"

Thalia knew about the nightmares, the ones Annabeth could never remember, the ones that felt like memories. Annabeth was someone who divided herself into compartments, and could switch between them on command – to become whatever version of herself she needed to be at any given time – but one of those compartments was locked up so tight that even she could not see inside. But she did not want to talk about whatever was locked away in her subconscious, and she knew that Thalia didn't really want to hear about it…but the impression of the dream last night was still fresh in her mind this morning.

Annabeth tried to focus on what was in front of her. The sun was shining over the crest of the mountain, making long slanted shadows on the ground. Glass was looking around with an expression of wonder that reminded Annabeth that this was her first time out in the woods away from camp. It brought a smile to Annabeth's face – it was good to see that a little bit of acid fog hadn't scared Glass away from seeing the beauty amidst the unknown. Alby and Clarisse were bringing up the back of the group, with two of the foot long albino fish that they'd wrangled from the pool inside the cave, and Jason was walking at the head.

A flicker of movement caught Annabeth's attention. She stopped as Jason bent down to pick up a flat round stone about the size of his palm. With a flick of his wrist he threw the stone into a bush. Pheasants flew out, scattering and taking to the sky where two of them were shot down by arrows from both Thalia and Annabeth. They exchanged a glance and smiled. They'd both gotten pretty good with a bow, and it was good to know that the acid fog hadn't scared off all the good hunting – the birds and animals that had run for cover were already returning.

"Hey," said Jason as they collected their catch. They looked up ahead to see what caught his attention. On the path beneath the ridge they were walking along, they saw Dax running with a small limp figure in his arms full speed along the path that would lead them back to camp. "What's his hurry?"

"Let's find out," said Thalia as they started making their way carefully down the ridge.

They got their answer along the path that led back to camp as they met up with the rest of the group that had gone fishing yesterday. "Hey," said Fox, wide eyed when she saw them, "You got caught in the fog too."

"Thanks for stating the obvious," said Annabeth.

"Why was Dax in such a hurry?" asked Thalia.

"Bo got sick," said Fox, "He wanted to get her back to Clarke."

Glass spoke up, "Clarke left camp yesterday to get medicine for Jasper. Emily and Wells went with her. And Finn."

Thalia turned to her. "You've been helping Clarke with Jasper right? You've been learning from her."

"I-I'm no doctor," Glass stammered. Thalia ignored her.

"You get back to camp and do what you can for Bo," Thalia ordered. To Alby and Clarisse she said, "Get the food back to camp, and try to prevent a stampede over who gets to eat first. Annabeth, Jason, you two come with me." To Fox, Del and the others who stood waiting to be told what to do, "The rest of you, get home."

As Thalia headed off following a different path, Fox called after her, "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go get Clarke," said Thalia. Clarke and Finn had been heading to the river that they'd found when they were searching for Jasper after he was taken. Thalia knew the way there.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked, catching the look on Thalia's face. She had a pretty good idea what Thalia was thinking about. Unlike her, Thalia's inner demons were easy enough to understand. Bo, a helpless little girl, sick and alone, no meds, and no one who cared…Once upon a time, that had been Thalia.

Thalia's only response was: "We_ really_ need to have more than one medic in camp."

**XXXXX**

**On The Ark: Government &amp; Science Station – Earth Monitoring Control Room**

The day before, there had been a mass uptick in the vital signs of every member of The Hundred whose wristband was still active, indicating that something had happened that had them all either very excited or very scared. But the signals had all mostly leveled out, so whatever the situation was, it had most likely stabilized. Now if only they could talk to those kids and find out what the hell was happening down there.

Abby Griffin and Cece Kane had their heads together, seemingly going over some of the data. Marcus Kane frowned suspiciously at them from across the room. Abby still believed that Earth was survivable, and that the juvenile delinquents were taking their wristbands off themselves. But she was blinded by sentiment, by worry for her daughter Clarke, which was understandable, but under these circumstances there was no room for sentimentality. They had to be practical.

Marcus' eyes slid over to his wife. Things had been tense between them these last few days since Abby's near execution, but Cece did not let her personal feelings get in the way of her work or her professionalism. Which was actually one of the things he loved most about her – how capable she was, despite…adverse circumstances.

Their daughter Emily was a lot like her…

Marcus shook off thought of Emily before his mind could go down that track. As he'd said before, this was not the time for sentimentality.

He'd been keeping an eye on Abby the last few days, ever since the last council meeting. The vote on whether or not to reduce the Ark's population in order to buy more time for Engineering to fix the life support system had ended in a draw, with Chancellor Jaha abstaining from making the deciding vote – he'd let Abby's sentimental false hope get to him, Kane thought with disdain – which meant that the vote would be taken up again then days after that meeting was dismissed.

"Vice Chancellor Kane," Commander Shumway's voice interrupted Kane's reflection.

"Commander Shumway," Kane greeted him. They both walked out of Earth Monitoring, heading to Kane's office.

Kane didn't believe that Abby would just accept that ruling – she was up to something – which is why he'd asked Commander Shumway to select someone for a special assignment, someone who could be trusted to be discreet. And now Shumway was presenting his candidate. He held out a portable vid-screen to Kane that had the file of a young guardsman open on it.

"He's a rule abider, and he's an excellent Guardsman. Top of his class in fact," Shumway said with pride in one of his former students. "He can be trusted to follow orders, and be discreet sir."

Kane looked over the guardsman's records, a young man named Luke Castellan. He was at the top of his class as a cadet, and he had an unmarked record as a Guardsman. And by Shumway's review, Castellan showed proper respect and difference to authority. He'd been a guardsman less than two years and had already been promoted ahead of others who'd been in his class. By all accounts, he looked promising. Kane nodded to Shumway who opened the door and let Castellan in.

"You wanted to see me sir," Castellan said respectfully.

Kane looked him over. The young guardsman stood straight with his gaze level. Castellan looked neither cowed being called before the Vice Chancellor, nor was he ardent and over-eager to please. He simple stood at attention waited to hear why he was here.

"Yes," said Kane. "I have an assignment for you."

**XXXXX**

The forest was back to its peaceful tranquility, with flowers unfurling from their nighttime rest and birds singing in the trees. Wells thought that the tranquility was deceptive. There was a noticeable tension in their group as they walked steadily back towards camp. They were in a patch of the forest where the trees grow closer together and blocked out much of the daylight – and the shadows hanging over them seemed to fit their mood. Emily and Clarke were walking ahead of him, but Wells could see an unfamiliar distance that had come up between them due to the harsh words they'd both spoken last night.

_Great,_ thought Wells,_ now those two weren't talking to each other either_.

"Last night was pretty intense," Finn said, distracting Wells from his depressing thoughts. "You and Clarke ever..?"

"No," said Wells, "Not like that."

It was on the tip of Finn's tongue to ask why not, but he had the good sense to squash his curiosity on that point. There was something else he was curious about though, "So, help me out. Your best friend tells you something fairly explosive. You seem like the kind of guy to keep it to yourself."

"You don't know me," Wells snapped.

Finn was undeterred, "Why'd you do it?"

"I don't know." Wells shook his head in annoyance. "Why do you care?"

"Come on," said Finn, "You three are councilors' kids. You knew what the rules were on the Ark better than anybody. You had to know her dad would get floated."

"I made a choice. And if she hates me for the rest of her life, I made the right choice, and that's all you need to know," Wells stated, pinning Finn with a look that said very loudly to back off.

He turned to keep walking, but froze he saw that Clarke had stopped and was watching Emily warily as Emily went on ahead. Wells noticed her hand shifted unconsciously to her waist like she wanted to reach for the gun she would normally have back when they'd both been in Officer Training – old habits die hard. Wells reached for his own knife, wary of whatever had put Emily on guard.

Emily listened and peered through the thick foliage around her, trying to place what was off. And she heard it – footsteps, very light, coming towards them.

Someone was there, just beyond those trees.

Emily put her back to the nearest trunk and waited, listening to the footsteps that she could just barely hear as they drew nearer. The tip of an arrow fitted to a bow became visible as the person came level with her hiding place, and Emily struck. She grabbed the bow and twisted, wrenching it out of its owner's grip. She saw a flash of metal and dogged back, her hand going to her sword.

"Emily!" Clarke exclaimed, rushing forward. She came through the foliage and saw that Emily's sword was at Thalia's throat, and Thalia's gun was in Emily's face. They both pulled back and lowered their weapons at the same time. Wells and Finn came running up at the same time that Annabeth and Jason did.

"I could have killed you," Thalia said as she put away her gun.

"Likewise," Emily said, unconcerned as she re-sheathed her sword. "Still carrying a gun I see."

"Wouldn't you if you had one?" Thalia responded.

Emily couldn't argue with that, but she looked at Thalia curiously. Thalia walked like she was accustomed to having to move quietly – with light steps that wouldn't echo on a metal floor…like someone who made a habit of sneaking past guards. And she'd been pretty quick with that gun when she was disarmed of her bow – she held it like it was comfortable in her hand.

"Tell me something," Emily said with a tilt of her head. "How does a girl who grew up in Prison Station learn to move like that?"

"Ask me no secrets and I'll tell you no lies," Thalia said with a challenging stare to match Emily's.

"What are you doing here?" Clarke asked.

"Looking for you," said Thalia. "We need you back at camp. Bo is sick."

"Sick how?" Clarke asked, her mind already flipping through the few supplies they had back at camp to treat whatever ailment came up.

"I don't know," said Thalia. "Just that she got sick last night, and Dax was running like wolves were after him to get her back to you."

She didn't need to say anymore. They marched on with Clarke determinedly leading the way. She hadn't let up on their pace all morning and now, with Jasper and Bo both sick, it was doubly urgent to get home and it was still several hours hike back to camp.

As they walked, Thalia noticed the unspoken tension in the group – it was kind of hard to miss, to be honest. "Dare I ask what happened to you last night?"

Clarke didn't answer.

"We were trapped in a hundred year old car by toxic fog," Finn said by way of kicking off a conversation that Clarke wasn't interested in having. "Last night was pretty…what's the word? Fun."

"It wasn't fun, it was irresponsible," said Clarke. "We should have left as soon as the fog cleared."

"Even with the fog gone, we wouldn't have made it back through these woods at night," Finn told her. She knew he was right, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "You know, you were kind of rough on Wells."

"Hardly," Clarke said unsympathetically. As far as she was concerned, whatever pain Wells was feeling was no less than he deserved. Finn tentatively broached a subject that had been going through his mind all day.

"He's a pretty straight up guy. And he loves you. You know that right?" Clarke didn't answer; Finn pressed on, "But anytime your dad comes up, he won't give you a straight answer. Makes me think he's hiding something."

"Spacewalker has a point," Thalia spoke up. "I've been wondering about that too. Especially with the way Emily is around both of you."

They'd shared a cell in the Skybox for a year – Clarke had told Thalia all about what happened back then with her dad, how he'd discovered the oxygen crisis on the Ark and wanted to warn people against the orders of the council, that Clarke had told Wells about it…and Wells had betrayed her. But since actually meeting Clarke's lifelong friends, it had been at the back of Thalia's mind to ask Clarke about it again. But she'd been preoccupied with everything else going on since Arrival Day.

"What do you mean?" asked Clarke.

"I've seen the way Emily stands up for you, watches out for you," said Thalia. "If she really believed that Wells did what you say he did, I don't think she would quite so friendly with him." Clarke stayed silent. It hadn't felt like Emily was watching out for her last night. "So I've actually been meaning to ask: How sure are you that Wells was the one who turned in your dad?"

"One hundred percent, okay, "Clarke said with certainty, "He's the only one I told."

"But was he the only one who _knew_?" Thalia said as she kept on walking.

Clarke stopped and her brow scrunched up in a frown as she considered this question. Emily had known – because she was there when Clarke found out herself. A kernel of suspicion started to form in the pit of Clarke's stomach, but it dissolved just as fast. Emily couldn't have said anything, she wouldn't. Even before all of this started, Emily hated her dad, and barely even spoke to him on a regular day unless she had to. Hell, a year ago, she'd been spending more time at Clarke's home than her own. Clarke's dad, Jake Griffin had been like a second father to her. No, it couldn't have been Emily who turned him in to the council.

"Clarke..?" Finn said, looking at her in concern. Clarke barely heard him.

Assuming for a moment that it wasn't Wells who turned her father in, and knowing that it wasn't Emily…That left only one other person…

Clarke's train of thought was abruptly derailed by a shrill scream.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

XX

Charlotte looked down on the scene in front of her and screamed. The masked figure crouched over the body on the ground looked up at her, and Charlotte recognized the same masked grounder she'd seen just before the fog rolled in yesterday. The grounder shot off into the woods, disappearing almost instantly. Charlotte got an unobstructed view of the body on the ground and she screamed again.

"Charlotte!" Bellamy came charging towards her drawn by her screams. He and the rest of his hunting party had been sweeping the area trying to find Atom. And now they'd found him. "Son of a bitch," Bellamy cursed, seeing the body on the ground. "Atom!"

"There was a grounder!" Charlotte warned him and the other hunters as they caught up. They looked to the trees where she was pointing, but whoever it was that Charlotte had seen was already gone without a trace.

Bellamy knelt down next to his friend. Atom was still alive, but with the state he was in, that might not be a good thing. Every inch of Atom's skin was burned and blistered, practically melted. His eyes were clouded white, blinded by the fog. His chest rose and fell erratically, in time with his uneven gasps for air as he tried to speak. Bellamy had to lean in close to hear him, and his blood ran cold when he made out what Atom was saying:

"Kill me…please…kill…me…"

Bellamy shook his head in denial hearing his friend beg for death. There had to be something he could do!

"Don't be afraid," Charlotte's small voice said as she pushed the knife Bellamy had given her into his hand. Bellamy grasped it, his stomach twisting. Atom had suffered through the fog all night…and he was still suffering. There was only one thing to do.

"Go back to camp," Bellamy ordered. Jones cast a forlorn look at his friend lying on the ground before he swallowed down his grief and led the others away. Charlotte lingered near Bellamy until he said, "Charlotte, you too."

When they were gone, Bellamy held the knife over his friend. As Atom pleaded for an end to his pain - "…kill me…Bellamy…p-please…please…" - Bellamy tried not to think about the last time he'd seen somebody dying, that sound of ragged painful breathing, blood spreading out all over the floor…

Bellamy only realized that his hand was shaking when another hand wrapped over his, steadying it. He looked at Thalia who'd knelt down next to him. She looked at him with understanding…and he wondered exactly what it was she understood.

"We heard screams," said Clarke. She knelt down next to Atom and looked him over.

"Charlotte found him," said Bellamy in a subdued voice, "I sent her back to camp with the others."

"Clarke?" Thalia asked, differing to the only medical expertise they had, but without much hope. Clarke met her eye and shook her head, confirming what Thalia already knew. They couldn't save Atom.

Atom couldn't see them, but turned his head towards the sound of the new voices, "…please…please…" he begged piteously.

"Okay," Clarke said softly to Atom, "I'm going to help you. It's alright."

Clarke gently traced her fingers through Atom's hair and started humming a lullaby as she took the knife out of Bellamy's hand. The thing about being a doctor is that knowing how to heal the damage also meant knowing how to cause it, where to cut to kill someone quickly.

Bellamy watched her as she pushed the knife into Atom's neck with a surgeon's precision, severing the main artery. Clarke's hand was steady on the knife as she did what needed to be done, even as a tear dripped from her eyes. She pulled the knife out to let his blood flow freely – he would be dead in a minute. What Thalia had said before, about the kind of strength that Clarke had… Bellamy saw it now. She set the knife down and gently ran her hand over Atom's hair, still humming her lullaby.

Bellamy realized that Thalia still had his hand when he tightened his grip without realizing it and she squeezed his hand in return. She felt so warm against his skin that had gone cold since finding Atom. Looking at her, he saw some emotion flicker over her face, but it was gone before he could identify it.

Thalia abruptly let go of his hand and Bellamy clenched it into a fist trying to dispel the sudden cold he felt without her touch. She leaned over Atom and gently closed his unseeing eyes. On the Ark when people died, their bodies were returned to the Earth in caskets. Thalia whispered words that were both chilling in their finality and comforting in their familiarity – the words said on the Ark for all those who had taken their final journey to the ground.

"May we meet again."

XX

The young scout watched the Sky-People gathered around the dying boy. Before they came, she'd had her knife in hand ready to end the boy's life herself when she heard the girl's scream and the others came running. He was too badly hurt to be of any use, and there was nothing to be gained from his suffering – the fog really was a terrible way to die. At least now that his friends had found him he would not have to die alone.

Keeping watch on the Sky-People was her first mission as a scout, and her brother urged caution. But she kept wanting to get closer, to see if she could hear anything more about the place they came from, the strange things they talked about. Her brother would not be happy that she'd been seen today, but the strangers had not come after her, probably assuming that she was already gone – you would think that people who fell from the sky would think to look up more often – and now she was safely hidden, where she could see them and not be seen.

And she wasn't the only one. From her vantage point in the trees, the scout could see what the Sky-People couldn't: The little girl who'd seen her hadn't left like she was ordered to. The little sky-girl, the one called Charlotte, stood hidden, watching as the healer used the knife, and the boy's life blood drained into the dirt.

He was dead. His fight was over. As for the rest of the Sky-people, the scout was pretty sure that their fight had only just begun.

**XXXXX**

**On The Ark: Government &amp; Science Station – Earth Monitoring Control Room**

An alarm rang in the Earth Monitoring Control Room. All heads looked up from their work stations to view the Prisoner Board that showed the readings from the surviving members of The 100. Both Abby and Cece looked hurriedly at the screen, and a flicker of relief passed over both their faces when they saw that Clarke and Emily's tiles were still lit.

One tile flashed red before going dark – Prisoner 299, Atom Ward. So far twenty-eight of the prisoners' wristband signals had been terminated – twenty-nine now. Marcus Kane shook his head. Sending The 100 to Earth was always a long shot, and this latest death just further proved his point. He noticed Abby checking her watch yet again. She'd been glancing at it constantly for the last hour.

"Is there somewhere you need to be?" he asked, keeping the suspicion out of his voice.

"Actually, yes. I have a patient I need to check on," Abby said.

She stood up and walked out of the room. If she was a bit flustered, she did a good job of hiding it, but Kane's intuition told him that she was hiding something – had been hiding something since the council vote. And whatever it was, Kane would know soon enough.

.

* * *

**Author's note**: I apologize for the long wait between chapters. I have been trying to find time to write working around my school schedule. I will try my hardest to make the wait between updates smaller.

Please review. Reviews encourage updates :)


	24. Truce

**Chapter 24 – Truce**

"Hey everybody, they're back," a shout greeted them as they came into camp. Thalia made a mental note that they needed to establish better security around camp. Nobody had seen them coming until they were right at the camp line; if grounders attacked, they'd be taken completely by surprise. She could put Kayla in charge of that; the Soldier Girl knew all about security. It was just after dusk with the last of the daylight fading behind the mountains; campfires providing warmth and light dotted the clearing. Bellamy and Wells carried the stretcher with Atom's body, covered by a jacket. The boys set the stretcher down carefully as more people approached cautiously, asking what had happened. Bellamy, still shaken, didn't answer any of the questions thrown at him.

Kayla looked to Thalia and simply asked, "Who?"

"Atom."

Kayla took it in stride as she'd been trained to, not letting herself be rattled.

"I going to check on Bo, and I need boiled water to make the medicine for Jasper," Clarke said, all business, perfectly fitting her role as camp doctor.

Hearing both Thalia and Clarke still focused on their jobs at hand, Bellamy mentally shook himself. "Get Clarke whatever she needs," he ordered. A few people scampered off to help her.

"I better go get this grave dug," Wells said quietly. Bellamy nodded, grateful that he'd volunteered for that morbid task.

His mind preoccupied with what happened to Atom, Bellamy hadn't questioned what Thalia had been doing out in the woods. Now he remembered that Thalia had been leading out a hunting party yesterday too. And judging by the smell of food being cooked over the fire and the line of people already queuing up for their share, they'd apparently had more luck that his team did.

"The rest of your hunting party..?" Bellamy let the question hang. Thalia knew what he was really asking: Did anyone else die?

"They're all here," she said, to Bellamy's relief, "Caught enough for everyone to have a hot meal tonight. Tomorrow…we'll see."

Bellamy understood what she left unsaid: tomorrow they would have the same challenge of trying to keep everyone alive, and hunger was not the only danger they faced. He stopped in mid-nod and Thalia looked to see what had caught his attention. He was looking towards the door of the dropship where Octavia had just stepped out to meet Clarke.

"It's about time," Octavia said urgently, "They were going to kill Jasper! Did you get the medicine?"

"Annabeth," said Thalia, nodding towards Octavia. Annabeth took the hint and moved to intercept Octavia before she could see the body.

"Hey," Annabeth took Octavia's arm and tried to turn her back towards the ship, "Let's go talk inside."

"Why?" asked Octavia. She looked over and saw the people gathered around the stretched, blocking it from view. She pulled away from Annabeth, who watched helplessly as Octavia was drawn to the gathering crowd.

"O, just stay there...stay back," said Bellamy, stepping in front of her and trying to turn her away. He knew that she cared about Atom. This...this wasn't something that she needed to see.

"Bell, stop," Octavia said pushing his hands away, his protests making her feel more of a sense of urgency…and dread. She knelt down next to the stretcher and pulled back the jacket covering the body. "_Atom_," the name came out as a choked sob. Octavia covered her mouth with her hand as tears quickly filled her eyes.

"There was nothing I could do-" Bellamy started to explain, guilt heavy in his voice.

"Don't!" Octavia said to him harshly, cutting him off. She didn't want to hear it, not from him. The last time she saw Atom he wouldn't even speak to her because of Bellamy, and now...he was just gone. Octavia tenderly pulled the jacket back up to cover his face – she didn't have the words to say goodbye.

As Octavia stood up Bellamy tried to put his arm around her, wanting to comfort his sister like he did when she was little. "Octavia-"

"Don't," she cut him off again, turning away from him. She walked away from the crowd, not wanting to see their pitying looks, not wanting any of them to see her cry. She passed Murphy on her way to the relative privacy of the dropship.

Bellamy watched her go, wishing he knew what to do or say to make her hurt go away. But there was nothing. He turned to Murphy, "Did we lose anyone here?"

"No," said Murphy.

"Jasper?"

"Still breathing, barely," Murphy rubbed the bump on the back of his head that was served as a reminder of last night's incident. "I tried to take him out but Monty and your psycho little sister-"

"My what?" He was cut off by Bellamy grabbing the front of his shirt in anger and yelling in his face, "My _what_?"

"Your little sister," Murphy said through gritted teeth.

"That's right, my little sister," Bellamy said releasing Murphy. "Anything else you want to say about her?" The threat in his tone clearly implied what the answer should be.

"Nothing," said Murphy, "Sorry."

Stepping back from Murphy, Bellamy turned to Jones and said, "Get him out of here," gesturing to Atom's body. Jones nodded and he and Alby took hold of the stretched to carry their lost friend to the graveyard to be buried.

Needing something to do, Bellamy turned to head for the ship to check on what was happening with the patients. He caught sight of Thalia still talking to Kayla, and that weird girl Tandoori. He knew Thalia was concerned about Bo; she'd come out into the wood looking for Clarke because Bo was sick.

"You coming?" he called to her.

"No," Thalia said without explanation. She barely spared him a glance, and Bellamy ignored the slight sting he felt as he turned away from her.

In truth, Thalia wanted to know that Bo was okay, but she couldn't risk getting sick herself if Bo was contagious. And anyway, she was listening to Kayla's report on the escalating rivalry issues in the camp.

"We had a bit of a situation last night…" Kayla explained about Murphy trying to kill Jasper and the fight that had broken out in the drop ship as a result.

"As a species, the human race is fundamentally insane," Tandoori put in when Kayla was finished. "Put more than two people in a high pressure situation and they will find some reason to turn on each other."

Thalia and Kayla exchanged looks at that morbid bit of insight before moving on. "This conflict between you and Bellamy, it spreads to everyone else and it's getting out of hand," Kayla continued. "Thalia…"

"You were right," Thalia cut her off, much to Kayla's surprise – she'd expected more of an argument.

"How do those words taste coming out of your mouth?" Tandoori asked. Thalia saying that someone else was right was as close as she ever came to saying that she herself had been wrong. Though admittedly, she wasn't wrong about much.

"Like vinegar," Thalia said with a grimace.

XX

Glass felt relief wash over her as Clarke came through the dropship door. "Thank God you're here," she said as Clarke joined her beside Bo's cot.

"What's going on?" asked Clarke.

With Clarke's arrival came a round of questions and murmurs of concerns from those pressing in to see what was happening.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"Is it contagious?"

Bo heard none of it. She laid sweating and struggling to breathe on her cot. Clarke hoped that whatever was wrong with Bo wasn't something contagious. She ignored the questions that she didn't have the answers to yet anyway as she checked Bo's breathing and her pulse, and asked Glass what she'd been doing for Bo.

"She has a fever and stomach ache; she's been unconscious for hours," Glass explained Bo's symptoms while she whipped a cool cloth over Bo's forehead like she'd seen Clarke do for Jasper to keep his fever down. "She can't keep any food down, but I've been trying to keep her hydrated. I…I didn't know what else to do for her."

"Hey, you did good," Clarke said reassuringly.

"Is it radiation?" someone in the background asked. That question set off a whole new round of worried chatter and some people backed away warily.

"Clarke," Bellamy pulled her away from the debate so the others wouldn't hear, "Could this be radiation?"

"I don't know," Clarke said uncertainly. On one hand, if there were toxic levels of radiation on Earth, the grounders would be dead. On the other hand, the grounders could have evolved to be immune to it. Bo's symptoms might be how early radiation exposure would present. Or it could be something else entirely. She managed to inject more certainty into her voice as she continued, "I don't think so. But we should keep her quarantined, in case it's contagious."

Bellamy took her at her word – she was the only medic they had. He shouted to the others to clear out of the ship. They all shuffled out, all except for one. Dax was sitting next to Bo's cot watching her. He hadn't left the kid's side since he came running into camp with her barely breathing in his arms.

"Dax, you should go too," said Clarke. He ignored her. "Dax-"

"Let him stay," said Bellamy. Clarke opened her mouth to tell him again that they couldn't risk sickness spreading, but he cut her off, "Look at him."

Dax was looking at Bo like he could will her to wake up and be alright just by staring. Bellamy knew that look; it was the same way he'd looked at Octavia when his little sister had gotten sick when she was small and he could do nothing but watch and pray that she'd get better.

"Trust me Clarke, he's not going anywhere," said Bellamy.

Dax watched Bo, her thin chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. He was glad when everyone else finally shut up and cleared out. He didn't care about them. He wished he didn't care about the little girl. She shouldn't be his problem. Hell, a week ago he didn't even know her. But she'd wormed her way under his skin, sticking close to him since Arrival Day, and now he couldn't shake it, the feeling that he was _supposed_ to watch her.

There was a bruise on Bo's arm where he'd grabbed her the day before; when the acid fog came rolling in and she'd tried to go back for her pack… He'd grabbed her arm and yelled at her for doing something so stupid. The sight of the bruise made Dax cringed – he hadn't meant to grab her that hard. The mark looked ugly on her pale skin. She was so tiny – he'd thought that before, how small she was. For such a little kid she was tough though, the way she never complained about anything. But right now she just looked downright breakable.

And now Dax was mad at those idiots who put a helpless little kid like her on the drop ship along with the rest of them. What were they thinking? She should be home with the people whose job it was to look after her. Dax never asked for it, and he didn't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way Bo had decided to trust him to look out for her. But he hadn't last night.

Bo got sick sometime in the middle of the night and he didn't notice. He might have noticed if she'd been right beside him like she usually was. But she'd been sleeping all alone in the corner of a cave because he'd yelled at her. He yelled at her…and then she got sick. Now he needed her to wake up. She had to wake up…

**XXXXX**

**On The Ark: Mecha Station – Restricted Level**

Guardsman Luke Castellan scanned his ID tag to enter the restricted section of Mecha Station that security records showed Dr. Abby Griffin had been visiting in the last few days. He'd been given clearance and access by the Vice Chancellor himself to check and verify all of Dr. Griffin's movements. Luke didn't know if Kane was being paranoid, or a dictator.

Or maybe he was just a dick. Yeah, that was probably it.

Whatever it was, Kane's suspicion of Dr. Griffin might just give Luke the opportunity to find out more about what was happening with The 100, and it was an opportunity he was happy to take. Through a combination of having good friends in useful places and a unique talent for knowing how to work the system, Luke was considered a top guardsman, especially for one so young. Commander Shumway considered him his protégé, perhaps seeing in Luke someone like himself – Someone who used the system to his advantage while seeming to uphold it.

Luke could pretend to be his protégé easily enough, but he knew a few truths that Shumway would rather keep hidden. For one, the man had had his own daughter arrested for a crime that he'd committed.

Kayla Shumway, she was one of The 100.

Shumway didn't know that Luke knew any of this, and Luke wanted to keep it that way. He didn't know Shumway's end game, and the truth could be far more dangerous than lies. Besides, he had his own problems to deal with.

And here was one of those problems now.

As he came up behind her, he recognized the red jacket. Raven Reyes, the girl who'd been snooping around in Earth Monitoring, the one who'd told Dr. Griffin that The 100 weren't dying; they were taking the wristbands off themselves. Luke knew that she wasn't cleared to be in this level; someone had to have given her the access code. Dr. Griffin had chosen not to have Raven arrested before, and apparently their interaction hadn't stopped there.

Raven worked the bolts loose on the panel of the old escape pod to access the wiring inside. She had to make sure that the circuits were complete and that the power surge when the pod powered up wouldn't fry the wiring and possibly blow them up. She had a week before the council voted on sacrificing hundreds of people to save air; a week to get this thing ready to take her and Abby to Earth, hopefully in one piece, to prove that it was survivable, that The 100 were still alive.

Raven yelped as she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She jerked her arm back, trying to elbow her assailant in the gut, but he caught it and twisted her arm behind her back.

"Get the hell off of me!" Raven shrieked, which were the same words she said to him the last time he caught her somewhere she shouldn't be.

"We have _got _to stop meeting like this," said Luke as Raven struggled. He pinned his arm across her chest to hold her still. "What are you doing in here? And what does it have to do with Dr. Griffin?"

"What is going on here?!" Enter the good doctor herself. Abby came in through the open door and took in the scene. "Let her go!"

As a guardsman, Luke couldn't disobey a counselor, even one under investigation for suspicious activity. He let Raven go. Ignoring the glare she gave him, he faced Dr. Griffin. "This is a restricted zone Dr. Griffin. She's not cleared for this area," said Luke. "Maybe you should tell me what you're both doing here."

Abby stayed silent, trying to think quickly…until Luke reached for his radio to call it in.

"Wait," said Abby, "Just wait…"

**XXXXX**

Darkness settled over the camp, and The 100 began to settle in for another night on the ground. Many were still reeling from the freak weather that had swept over them, that storm of acid fog, which apparently wasn't too uncommon around here if the grounders had their own warning system for it – the horn that the hunting parties heard just before the fog swept in. If something like that could happen, and could hit so suddenly with hardly any warning, then what other secrets and hidden threats did life on the ground hold? Grounders with their spears were certainly not the only danger.

Bellamy drew a hand tiredly over his face as he came out of the dropship. Turning to head towards his tent, he found himself face to face with Thalia.

"We need to talk," she said.

"Not now," Bellamy said, in no mood to deal with her.

As he tried to walk past her, Thalia stepped in front of him and put a hand on his chest. "Would I be asking _nicely_ to speak to you if it wasn't important?"

Bellamy looked at her and saw the seriousness in her eyes – and that she looked tired too. He nodded and led the way towards his tent where they could talk in private. Almost private – two girls were waiting for Bellamy in his tent.

"Get out," Bellamy said, barely glancing at then.

The girls scampered to obey him, one of them shooting Thalia a dirty look as she passed. Thalia paid them no mind, other than to register their names – the blond was Bree and the brunette's name was Roma – as they left (Though it did occur to her that she should probably tell Bellamy that Bree had been arrested for killing her last boyfriend in his sleep). As soon as they were gone, Thalia got right to what was on her mind.

"Apparently, there was an argument over what to do about Jasper while we were gone," said Thalia.

"Yeah, Murphy told me he tried to take him out and Octavia stopped him," said Bellamy, "So what?"

"So…it wasn't _just_ Murphy and Octavia. Others in the dropship were taking sides and turning against each other. They were fighting over whose orders to follow – mine or yours," Thalia spelled it out for him.

"Maybe you should back the hell off then," Bellamy said fiercely, trying to intimidate her, "Then we wouldn't have this problem."

"Not gonna happen," Thalia said not backing down an inch, "But _this_, all of it, it isn't just about you and me Bellamy. If someone had pulled a knife, that argument could have ended with us digging more than one grave tonight." She stepped closer to him with a blazing look in her deep blue eyes, and this time Bellamy had to remind himself not to back down. Thalia stated a hard but simple truth. "They are putting Atom in the ground right now. He was my friend too."

Bellamy could see the sincerity in her eyes, and her very real concern over what had happened. The truth in Thalia's words resonated with him. Atom had taken, as they said on the Ark, his final journey to the ground, and it could easily have been any of them.

"So what's your point?" asked Bellamy, without the edge that he'd intended.

"My point is that however much you and I may dislike each other, for everyone's sake, we have to at least _try _to work together," said Thalia. "Otherwise these people are going to keep choosing sides and dreaming up reasons to kill each other."

"Us work together?" Bellamy asked skeptically.

"I don't want to bury anymore of our own," Thalia stated simply. "I don't want their blood on my hands. Do you? What happened to Atom wasn't anyone's fault, but it is on us. They _all_ are."

Thalia and Bellamy had each put themselves in charge to get what they wanted. The difference between them was that Thalia knew being in charge meant more than just getting your way. It meant that those who followed you were _your_ responsibility. Thalia held out her hand to him, and Bellamy remembered how she'd taken his hand while they watched Atom die. She'd cared about Atom; she might not show it much, but she cared about all of them. He took her hand – it was just as warm as he remembered – and they shook on it, this new truce between them.

Thalia moved to leave his tent, but then turned back. "One more thing Bellamy. You need to do something about Murphy."

Bellamy bristled at her already telling him what to do, "I can handle Murphy."

"You sure about that?" asked Thalia, her lack of confidence in him was clear. "Because living by 'whatever the hell we want', means that he doesn't have to listen to you. He already tried to kill Jasper – against your orders, I might add. Muzzle your dog, before he really does get someone hurt."

And the she turned and Bellamy watched her walk out.

**XXXXX**

**On The Ark: Mecha Station – Restricted Level**

Luke looked back and forth between Raven Reyes and Dr. Abby Griffin after they'd finished their explanation of what the hell Raven was doing tinkering with an old escape pod. The silence stretched until Luke finally spoke.

"Let me just make sure I have this right," he began. "You want a 19 year old girl to rebuild a 130 year old metal death trap," he looked doubtfully at the wrecked escape pod, "so that you can launch yourselves from the Ark onto what is possibly a radiation soaked planet on the slim chance of finding your daughter," he pointed at Abby, "and her boyfriend," he gestured to Raven, "still alive – assuming that the pod holds up and you even make it to Earth – going against the orders of the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and the council, without any kind of clearance, authorization or backup."

Abby and Raven exchanged a glance. Abby said, "Yes, that about sums it up."

Luke looked from Abby to Raven to the escape pod that could hold four people, and then back to Abby. "Okay," he said, his straitlaced guard stance fell away as he gave them a cocky grin. "I'm in."

"What!" Raven exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" said Abby. It was not the response she was expecting.

"I've got people down there too," Luke said seriously. "Besides, you're gonna need help. Kane's the one who sent me here looking for you. He knows you're hiding something, and that you've been coming down to Mecha a lot recently."

"Kane's tracking me?" said Abby.

"He's tracking everybody. He's being more and more like a dictator."

"Or he's just a dick," Raven muttered.

Luke's mouth twitched into a smile as Raven said what he'd been thinking not long ago. Then he became more serious as he said to Abby, "Kane's watching you like a hawk and he's got eyes everywhere. You want to pull this off without landing in an airlock chamber, you're gonna need someone to help throw him off. Someone he won't suspect."

"No way!" Raven said seeing that Abby was considering his words. The last thing she wanted was to have this cocky condescending guard around. "Abby, come on."

"Either I'm going with you, or we can go see what Councilor Kane thinks about it right now," Luke threatened, hoping that they wouldn't call his bluff. He wouldn't really rat them out to Kane – quite frankly he hated the guy – but they didn't need to know that.

"You son of a-" Raven cursed.

"All right," Abby interrupted. "You're in."

Raven groaned; Luke smirked at her. "Looks like we're gonna be spending a lot of time together Bird."

Raven scowled at the nickname he'd chosen for her. It made her sound like she was something small and fragile. Abby held out her hand to Luke; he took it and they shook hands.

And then they were three.

**XXXXX**

In the upper level of the drop ship, Octavia held Jasper's head up as Clarke brought another cup of warm tea to his lips and they gently encouraged him to drink. Jasper didn't wake up, and they weren't even sure if he knew they were there, but he swallowed on reflex as the medicine dibbled into his mouth.

Octavia focused on him, trying not to let her mind go to Atom. A few days ago she'd had her first kiss in a field of glowing butterflies, like a picture out of a fairy tale… And now he was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do.

"Hey," Annabeth said gently, seeing where her mind was going, "I'm really sorry about Atom."

"I guess we're gonna have to get used to people dying down here aren't we," Octavia said around the tightness in her chest. She looked down at Jasper, her friend. She'd saved him though; she protected him from Murphy. They'd almost lost him too, but he was still here. She spoke to him softly, "But not you, you hear me. You're not allowed to die."

Jasper smiled in his sleep.

Clarke looked down at him and allowed real hope to creep in. She'd been determined that he would survive since he'd been injured, but the dread that had been weighing on her for days was only now lifting. He seemed to be resting easier since getting the medicine and she let herself be optimistic that he'd be okay. With the world they lived in they might have to get used to people dying…but she didn't think it was something you could ever really get used to.

Especially when it was your fault.

XXX

**_Flashback: One Year Ago _**

_Emily used her father's access codes to enter the restricted corridor that led to the airlock chamber. Those codes were supposed to be classified; He would be angry at her for that when he found out, but right now Emily didn't give a damn. She was doing this for Clarke._

_"__Come on," she said to Clarke who was standing anxiously behind her. They raced down the corridor hoping that they were not too late._

_At the airlock, Chancellor Thelonious Jaha and Vice Chancellor Marcus Kane presided over Jake Griffin's execution. Wells Jaha was there as well. Guards stood by as Jake was allowed to say goodbye to his wife._

_With his arms around Abby he spoke into her ear, "You have to warn them, Abby." _

_"__Oh, Jake, stop," Abby sobbed. The secrets that the council was keeping, the oxygen crisis… She didn't want to think about any of that right now._

_Jake wouldn't let it go, "The Ark's dying. There's no choice." _

_"__Yes, there is," Abby insisted. "There's Earth. We'll at least have a chance." _

_Jake took off his wedding ring and pressed it into Abby's hands. "Here. Hang on to that." Then he pulled off his watch, a battered old thing that his father had given to him. "And… give this to Clarke and tell her that I…"_

_"__Dad!" Jake's heart just about broke at the sound of his daughter's plaintive cry. _

_Wells protested as the guards retrained Clarke, prevented her from getting to her father. Abby rushed to Clarke's side. "Clarke, you shouldn't be here, honey. You don't want to see this." _

_Clarke ignored her mother and struggled against the guards. That was her father; she had to be there, she had to._

_"__It's alright," Chancellor Jaha said to the guards. They backed off._

_Clarke ran to her father and threw her arms around him, crying openly. Emily's face showed no expression, though tears that she refused to let fall burned behind her eyes. Seeing her over Clarke's head, Jake held out a hand to Emily and she came and hugged him too along with Clarke. She loved him too._

_"__You girls look after each other," said Jake._

_Emily heard a disgruntled noise from her father which she ignored, though she did disentangled herself and step back, letting Clarke have a moment with her dad._

_"__It's okay. It's okay," Jake said soothingly as he ran his hand over Clarke's hair, trying to comfort her. He pulled her arms from around his neck and pressed the watch into her hand. "Here. Keep that for me." _

_"__Jake, it's time," said Jaha._

_Jake hugged Abby and Clarke one last time. He had to be strong for them, for Clarke. He couldn't let her see that he was afraid, or she would be even more afraid. "I love you kid."_

_"__I love you," Clarke could hardly speak through the grief and guilt choking her._

_Clarke felt like a part of her was being ripped away as her father walked into the airlock chamber. Her mother put an arm around her shoulders and held her close as the inner door sealed shut. The outer door opened and Jake Griffin was sucked out into the endless vacuum of space, there one second and gone the next._

_"__Oh my God," Clarke gasped between sobs as she cried heart-wretchedly on her mother's shoulder. "I'm…so…sorry,"_

_Seeing her friend in such distress like her lungs were the ones exploding, Emily felt a pressure building inside her, like a kettle just before the boil. She wanted to scream, to jolt everyone awake and make them see what they were doing. She couldn't look at her father, though she felt Marcus' penetrating eyes on her – watching her, judging her – eyes so similar to her own. If she did look at him right now, then she really would scream. Or grab a guard's gun and shoot that disgusting smug look he always had off his face. She wished that she could make him understand the pain, the panic, the confusion that she felt…most of all, the betrayal. But all those years of sitting quietly, of listening and speaking only when spoken to… All the years of being Marcus Kane's daughter, kept her in practiced obedience._

_"__Oh, sweetheart, it's not your fault," Abby said consolingly as she held on tightly to Clarke like she was afraid her daughter would be ripped from her arms as well. "It's not your fault." _

_No, it certainly wasn't Clarke's fault. _

_Emily looked behind her to where Wells had been standing and saw him disappearing around the corner with his head down. Using her anger to dry her own unshed tears, she stalked after him…_

**XXX**

"You know, you could have helped," Wells called to Emily.

He stood in the graveyard, having just finished burying Atom's body. A lit torch stuck into the ground lit up the three mounds of dirt – for Atom and the boys who'd died in the crash – that marked the places of three of the members of The 100 who'd died. The two who'd gone missing, Trina and Pascal, had not been found, and after seeing the acid fog, it was a pretty safe bet what happened to them. Emily was sitting on the low hanging branch of a tree that grew on the edge of the graveyard. The branch swayed with her weight as she balanced almost effortlessly.

"Do you remember what it was like before all of this started?" she said reminiscently, ignoring his comment. "I mean the _day_ before?"

_._

_Looking at it now, it all seems so simple_

_We were lying on your couch, I remember_

_._

"Yeah," said Wells. He stuck the end of the shovel into the ground and leaned on the handle. "We were all watching a football game."

"The first game of the season."

"Just having fun. It was so..."

"Normal? Yeah," said Emily. "That's the thing. The day before your whole world changes…feels just like any other day."

Wells sighed heavily, "It's been a year, and it feels like a lifetime. A lot's come between us all."

"Uh huh," Emily jumped down from her place in the tree, landing lightly on her feet. "You know, there was a time when the only thing in the way of you and Clarke was us."

Wells chuckled, "I wouldn't call 'us' an us."

"And what would you call it then?" Emily asked.

"A lapse," said Wells.

"Quite a few lapses," Emily smirked playfully. "By the way, there might be more between you and Clarke than either of you knows." She tipped her head like she was listening for something, "And speak of the devil…"

"Wells," Clarke's voice called out as she came into the light of the torch.

"It's creepy how you do that," Wells whispered to Emily.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll leave you two to talk."

Clarke stopped her as she walked passed, "Em, about what I said before…I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it."

"Yes you did," said Emily. "You were being emotional. That's part of what makes you…you." There were times when Emily said things in a way that made it hard to determine if what she said was an insult, a complement, or just a statement of fact. This was one of those times. "We all said things Clarke. And we all meant every word."

Clarke wasn't going to argue with her on that, "So…what now?"

"So now, we get over it. We forgive each other and we move on," Emily said, as though it were that simple. Maybe it was. Clarke criticized Emily for being detached and unemotional, but maybe that was why it was so easy for her to just let go of anger towards her friend. It wasn't that she didn't care; it was just that, in this case, she didn't feel the need to hold onto that anger.

_._

_You took a Polaroid of us, then discovered _

_The rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming color_

_._

As Emily walked away from the graveyard, leaving her friends to talk, she knew that he was there before he spoke. "So what did she say before?" asked Danny

Emily smiled as he eased out of the shadows to walk beside her. "Eavesdrop much?"

"It's my job," he joked. "So what was it?"

"She said I do not have feelings," said Emily. "I do have feelings, I just don't express myself the way that Clarke does."

"Good," said Danny smiling suggestively. "I like the way you express yourself."

"Do you?"

XX

Emily was gone, but Clarke hadn't spoken yet. She seemed to be struggling with herself to find the words she wanted.

"Are you okay?" Wells asked.

Clarke, in a very un-Clarke like fashion, sounded hesitant and uncertain. "I know I probably don't deserve it…but I need to know the truth." She didn't want to say the words, but she knew that she had to. "It was my mom, wasn't it? She's the one who told your dad."

Wells couldn't hide the pained expression that came over his face that told Clarke that she was right, that this was the secret he'd been hiding.

"I didn't want to believe it. I…I couldn't." Her voice sounded strained as tears started to leak from her eyes. "I blamed you because my father's dead and it's my mother's fault…isn't it?"

Though she said it as a question, she already knew the answer. Still, she needed to hear it. She needed to hear it from him.

"Wells please…tell me."

XXX

**_Flashback: One Year Ago_**

_…__Wells walked dejectedly down the hall after seeing Jake Griffin's execution and Clarke's pain…Emily's too for that matter, though she tried not to show it. He didn't have a destination in mind. He just thought it was best to give Clarke and her mom space while they grieved. Wells was trying to make sense of it in his own head, how this had happened…how his father could execute a friend like that…_

_Just a week ago, they'd all been watching that football game together._

_His thoughts were interrupted by someone grabbing him from behind and pushing him hard against the wall. He saw that it was Emily as she pinned him with her arm against his throat. She really was a lot stronger than she looked._

_"__What the hell were you thinking?!" she demanded._

_"__Em, I didn't-" Wells started. Then he swallowed his words. "I didn't know that would happen. I thought the council would be lenient..."_

_Emily stepped away from Wells as she listened to him. She knew him; she knew his expressions, she knew how he talked. And she knew when he was lying. "It wasn't you," she cut him off._

_"__Em, its-"_

_"__Do not try to lie to me right now Wells. You're not nearly good enough at it," Emily warned him. "It wasn't you, was it?"_

_"__Emily…"_

_"__And it sure as hell wasn't me," Emily said slowly, "That just leaves…"_

_"__Abby," Wells said looking over Emily's shoulder. Emily turned to see Abby coming towards them down the corridor. She hadn't noticed them until Wells said her name. When she looked up, they saw that her eyes were red and she looked like she was in shock. _

_Emily looked at her warily. "Where's Clarke?"_

_"__They…they took her," Abby said shakily. "She's being charged as an accessory to treason." Wells moved to comfort her – because that's the kind of guy he was, always the good guy, reliable, dependable, there when you need him._

_Abby was right when she said that Jake's death wasn't Clarke's fault. _

_And it wasn't Wells' fault either…_

XXX

"I knew how you would feel," Wells said in response to Clarke's plea for the truth. "I wanted to-"

"-To protect me," Clarke finished for him. "So you let me hate you."

He smiled weakly, "What are friends for?"

Clarke's grief for her father bubbled up like it was new, compounded by the awful truth that she'd learned, the pain that Wells had tried so hard to protect her from, and the guilt she felt for blaming the wrong person for so long.

"How can you forgive me?" Clarke said through her tears.

But she already knew the answer – It was because he was Wells, the best friend she'd grown up with, always taking the high road, always making the right choice, regardless of his own feelings. Always being her best friend…even when she didn't deserve him.

"It's already done," Wells said as he pulled her close and held her while she cried. He'd never wanted Clarke to hurt like this. But it did feel really good to have his best friend back…and maybe more than a friend.

_._

_When you started cryin', baby, I did, too _

_But when the sun came up, I was lookin' at you_

_._

**XXXXX**

In the drop ship, Jasper was resting easier than he'd been before. No painful moans disturbed the quiet; no disgruntled delinquents called for his death so that they could get some sleep. The medicinal tea that Clarke had given him seemed to be doing its job. And now it was just a waiting game to see when he would wake up.

Finn passed around the old bottle of whisky that he'd found in the truck. There were only a few sips left from the previous night of drinking; he shared it around with those who'd been on tender hook looking after Jasper. He figured they could use the stress relief.

"Smooth," Monty said after a gulp. Coughing, he passed it on to Octavia who sipped it.

"Disgusting," Octavia said with a grimace, "Love it."

A week voice spoke up, "Can I…get a hit of that?"

"Jasper!" Monty exclaimed. Seeing his best friend awake for the first time in days, he raced to Jasper's bedside and clasped his hand.

"Hey, let's start with the soft stuff," Finn said, bringing him a drink of water. He helped Jasper lift his head to sip the water carefully so that he wouldn't choke. "Welcome back buddy."

_._

_The monsters turned out to be just trees, _

_And when the sun came up, you were lookin' at me_

_._

Jasper set his head back down, tired from just that little effort. His body might be weak, but his sense of humour was still up and running, "Was that a dream or did I get speared?"

"You'll have a very impressive scar to prove it," Clarke said as she came up the ladder to join them. She was overjoyed to see him conscious.

"My savior," Jasper cheered.

Clarke knelt down next to him and rested her hand on his forehead. His fever was broken. She smiled down at him. "Thank you for not dying. I don't think I could have handled that today."

Jasper smiled back, "I'll try not to die tomorrow too if that's cool."

"Oh, hello," he said cheerily, seeing Octavia's smiling face. She looked like an angel...the angel from his dreams who said he wasn't allowed to die. Then his head settled back on his bed and his eyes drifted shut with a smile on his face. They let him rest.

_._

_Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods yet? Are we out of the woods?_

_Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet? In the clear yet?_

_Good_

_._

**XXXXX**

* * *

**Author's note: **The lyrics featured in this chapter are from _Out Of The Woods_ by Taylor Swift

Please review and let me know what you think about the direction of the story :) What do you think about Thalia and Bellamy's leadership? Will things work out between them, or is everything going to go to hell? Give me your views.


	25. The Morning After

**Chapter 25 – The Morning After**

For Clarke, it was turning out to be a very long night. Jasper was doing better; he already showed remarkable improvement in a short amount of time. He was lucid now that his fever had broken, and he'd managed to drink some broth before drifting back to sleep. It looked like he would be okay. Clarke was more concerned about Bo.

Bo woke up, but only for a few minutes, and she didn't seem to know what was happening. She was still feverish and couldn't keep any food down; she got sick when they tried to get her to eat, and then she faded back into a restless sleep. If that wasn't enough for Clarke to worry about, later in the night two other people fell ill. Fox was carried into the drop ship sweating and shaking, and later Del staggered in after throwing up his dinner. There were set up on cots inside the ship along with Bo.

Clarke had been afraid of something like this happening since Arrival Day. They were all being exposed to germs that their bodies had never encountered before, and all of them living so close together like this, it would be easy for sickness to spread. She examined them and it looked like whatever Bo had, they had it too, though Clarke still didn't know what is was or what was causing it.

Dax didn't care about Del or Fox being sick; he didn't care about the cause, just the cure. He just wanted Bo to wake up and be okay. And he didn't even know why he wanted it so badly. Why did this kid matter so much? She was annoying. She never shut up. Her annoying questions about everything, irritating chatter about whatever popped into her head, and those stupid little songs she liked to sing. Even when he told her to shut up she'd start humming again a minute later. Once she got over being shy, the only time Bo was completely quiet was when she was asleep.

Unless she had nightmares.

Dax had dozed off leaning against the wall, but he started awake when he heard a familiar sound. Bo was whimpering in her sleep – she did that when she had her bad dreams – and her hands started reaching for something that wasn't there. Dax had seen that before; she did that when she wanted that stuffed toy she carried around. It wasn't here though. It was in her pack that got left by the stream when they'd had to run from the acid fog. With a sigh, Dax pulled her blanket up over her thin shoulders, and tucked a strand of sweat-dampened hair behind her ear.

"I'll be back soon," he said quietly.

He got up…but he didn't want to leave Bo alone in case something happened to her and she got worse. He spotted a guy, Monty, coming down from the upper level.

"Hey," Dax grabbed him by the front of his shirt and practically growled, "Watch her!"

Monty nodded looking slightly scared, and Dax marched out of the ship.

Clarke didn't get much sleep monitoring her various patients. She alternated between running cool cloths over Bo, Del and Fox trying to keep their fevers down, and checking on Jasper to make sure he didn't relapse. At some point in the night when she came back down to check on Bo, Clarke noticed that Dax was gone. He hadn't said anything all night while he sat next to Bo's cot just watching over her. Clarke only noticed he was gone because the space he took up was empty, but she didn't think anything of it; she just figured he'd gone to get some sleep outside.

**XXXXX**

"Annabeth, wake up! Annabeth."

Annabeth woke up gasping for breath with her heart pounding and somebody shaking her. Not even fully awake, she lashed out on instinct, grabbing the person that was holding her and flipping them over. Annabeth heard a startled cry and a grunt when that person hit the floor; she found herself holding Octavia down with a hand around her throat. It took her a moment to realize that she was safe in the tent that they shared.

"I'm sorry," she said releasing Octavia at once and scrambling back. "I didn't mean to do that."

Octavia sat up and rubbed her throat where Annabeth had grabbed her, "God, where'd you learn the kung fu death grip?"

"You shouldn't touch me when I'm asleep," Annabeth said distractedly. Then, realizing what she'd said, she tried to laugh it off, "And you really do need to learn how to fight."

Octavia had noticed the way she did that sometimes, how Annabeth shifted to a new subject like the old one was never discussed. And as freaked out as Octavia was by her extreme reaction to being woken in the middle of the night, Annabeth looked even more freaked out.

"Hey," Octavia said in concern, "What's wrong? You looked like you were having a nightmare."

"Nothing, I just...bad dream," Annabeth said breathlessly shaking off the last lingering traces of fear and adrenaline.

"What about?" Octavia pushed.

"I...don't know," Annabeth said uncertainly. "I never remember my dreams."

_._

_When I was a child, I heard voices... Some would sing and some would scream_

_You soon find you have few choices... I learned the voices died with me_

_._

Octavia was watching her warily, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Sometimes…I just don't sleep well." Trying to make a joke of it – and also deflecting again – she added, "Glass said that me and Emily have that in common."

"We don't have anything in common with Emily Kane," Octavia scoffed. She hadn't forgotten the way Emily taunted her before, or threatened her brother.

"You know, maybe you should give it a rest with Emily," Annabeth suggested. "You're actually more like her than you realize."

"What are you talking about?" Octavia huffed in annoyance.

"Well, you get pissed off whenever someone mentions how you grew up – 'the girl they found under the floor'; the fact that you were illegal," Annabeth noticed the way Octavia tensed as she said that. "Have you noticed how pissed off Emily gets whenever someone talks about how _she _grew up? Or brings up her dad, or even so much as calls her by her last name?"

Octavia had noticed that actually. Emily Kane - the high and mighty princess - didn't like being called Princess. Or Kane. Or anything that marked her as the Vice Chancellor's daughter. Octavia had never really thought much about it. But apparently Annabeth had.

"It pisses you off that the council used us like we're…I believe the word Jaha used in his message was 'expendable'," Annabeth continued. "Imagine how it feels for them; how you would feel if your mother had said that about you. Emily, and Wells and Clarke…Their own parents sent them down here to die."

Octavia was quiet as she absorbed these words. She'd grown up knowing that her very existence endangered her mother's life, but Aurora Blake had never once made her daughter feel unwanted or unloved. Atom had said that that was why Octavia didn't turn into a basket case growing up under the floor. And now Octavia was getting choked up thinking about her mom…and Atom…two people that she'd loved and lost.

The reason Annabeth was bringing all of this up now was because she didn't want to see a repeat of the fight – if you could call it that – that had happened between Octavia and Emily. Emily had been holding way, _way_ back; she could have seriously hurt Octavia if she wanted to. And Annabeth recognized the look of someone who wanted to hurt. She'd seen it many times before and, even though she suppressed that impulse, it was there in Emily's eyes when they fought. At any rate, the safest way to protect Octavia from Emily was for Octavia not to antagonize the Warrior Princess any more than she already had.

And frankly, Annabeth was happy to discuss someone else's issues, rather than her own. She'd seen the way Wells walked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders; Clarke's constant need to take care of everyone; Emily's…people skills, or lack thereof.

"You think being a councilor's kid was easy?" Annabeth said thoughtfully. "If their lives were so easy, what do all their issues stem from I wonder."

**XXXXX**

Santos saw her coming out of his tent - Emily Kane - and clenched her jaw knowing that she'd been with him, with pretty boy Danny. People around camp were starting to call Emily 'Warrior Princess', for the way she fought…and the way she seemed to think she was better than everyone. The Vince Chancellor's daughter, one of the privileged, a cut above the rest…

Santos knew better. She knew Emily better. Or at least she had, once upon a time. Whether or not Emily though she was better than anyone else, she'd never said it. Then again, she never had to. Emily wore her confidence in every move she made and every word she spoke. She was set apart from the rest of The 100 – by her status, by her parentage, by her own choice… By some undefinable quality that was just a part of who she was, Emily stood apart from the rest.

She always had.

It was a part of her that drew people, like a flame draws a moth…only to singe its wings.

_._

_When I was a child, I'd sit for hours, staring into open flame_

_Something in it had a power…could barely tear my eyes away_

_._

Emily splashed water over her face from one of the rain barrels and brushed her dark hair back behind her shoulders. The flickering light of the nearby torch made the water's surface a mirror, broken by the ripples before it slowly settled back into a flat surface that reflected the stars above.

"You gonna stare at me all night?" she spoke without turning around, "Because it's even creepier now than it is during the day."

Santos stepped out of the shadows behind her into the light of the torch. "Not much else to look at out here."

"So what, you here to pick another fight?" Emily asked, though she doubted it. Santos was crazy, not stupid. If she wanted a fight, she would have tried to take Emily by surprise; she knew that she couldn't take her in a fair fight. Looking at her though, Emily could see that she was struggling with it, with whether or not it would be worth it to try. Damn, that girl could hold a grudge. Emily rolled her eyes. "It was three years ago. Get over it!"

Santos practically snarled, "I spent those three years in prison! _You_ put me there!"

"You put_ yourself_ there," Emily said contemptuously. She knew that Santos' real grudge against her wasn't for sending her to prison. It was far more personal than that.

Santos took an angry step towards Emily, closing the gap between them, but was brought up short by the knife pressed against her leg. Emily held a sharpened blade against Santos' femoral artery – an incentive to behave: one false move, she'd be done. There was hardly any space between them and it was impossible to mistake the lethal look in Emily's eye as she warned, "Careful."

In response to the threat, Santos did not look dismayed, or even enraged. If anything, she looked livelier than ever, thrilled by the danger. Emily could see the pulse in the other girl's throat and the faint flush to her skin, and she knew what she was going to do a moment before she did it. She didn't try to stop Santos as she moved her hand to cup Emily's neck and brought their lips together.

Santos' hands slid down costing over Emily's shoulders, down her arms, and around her waist. Emily's hand rose to Santos' neck where she could feel the rapid flutter of her pulse. Santos trembled against her, catching her breath with the sparkling overload of physical sensation.

Emily indulged her for a minute, enjoying the feeling and sensation that had once been familiar. And then she grabbed both of Santos' wrists and pushed her hands away. Now Santos' eyes flashed in anger.

"I saw you coming out of his tent," Santos said in a near growl that the next instant turned into a purr as she tried to press closer to Emily. "He doesn't know you. He doesn't understand you. _I _do." She melted against her, kissing her was from mouth to ear, her hands going to a place that made her intentions and desires unmistakable.

But Emily'd had enough; she hit her, palm of the hand, flat to her chest with enough force, not to hurt her, but to knock her off balance. She'd caught her off guard, and there wasn't time to recover. Santos landed in an inelegant sprawl on the ground.

"I know you pretty well too. You're not worth the headache," Emily said coldly.

They had been good together once, good in a way that was not just physical. Back then, Santos had been an occasional indulgence, a bad habit that was finally broken when Santos' crazy clinginess started to show – those possessive/obsessive flare-ups that in the course of their previous relationship had gone from flattering to thrilling to creepy to getting really old really fast.

Emily Kane was a councilor's kid, while Emmi Santos had been just another worker's kid from Hydra Station, overlooked and so often told that she wouldn't amount to anything, that she was kidding herself trying to raise her station by getting into Officer Training. Being friends with someone like Emily…and being more than friends…it wasn't something that she'd been willing to let go of, ever, so she'd sunk her claws in deep… And Emily had cut them off.

Emily didn't think that she was better than other people; she just didn't care all that much about catering to other people's feelings.

"Hey," a voice in her ear startled Santos, "What are you thinking so hard about?"

Santos looked at Leo and realized that she was sitting in their tent. She didn't remember getting up and walking back there. And as for what she was thinking…

…She shouldn't have kissed her, shouldn't have indulged in the fantasy. But it was a small glimpse of what might have been if life had been more fair, if Emily Kane had not turned on her…

"I'm done thinking." Santos grabbed Leo's shirt and pulled him to her. He kissed her enthusiastically and Santos returned his kiss, though he was not the one that she wanted to be kissing, though his were not the hands that she wanted to feel…

She pushed those thoughts from her mind. It was nice to feel that somebody wanted her.

_._

_When I was 16, my senses fooled me. Thought gasoline was on my clothes_

_I knew that something would always rule me... I knew the scent was mine alone_

_._

Emily had already forgotten about Santos.

She wasn't sure why she didn't go back to the tent that she usually shared with Clarke. Clarke was working late looking after her patients in the drop ship, so Emily could have had the tent to herself. But instead she'd come back here.

"Hey," Danny said as she stepped inside. "You couldn't sleep?"

"I can think of better things to be doing," Emily said as she rejoined him on the bed.

Danny didn't argue.

**XXXXX**

It was just an hour or two before dawn when Dax came back into the drop ship carrying Bo's pack. The pack had been right where Bo had left it, under the berry bush with the thorns that she'd gotten her ponytail stuck in. Monty, who'd been watching over Bo while Dax was gone, got up as soon as he saw Dax and scurried out of his way. Dax ignored him and sat down heavily on the floor next to her cot. He pulled Bo's toy out and tossed the pack aside. Bo tossed and turned restlessly on her cot.

"Hey," Dax shook her shoulder. "Come on kid."

Bo mumbled something in her sleep but didn't wake up. He set the toy next to her searching hands and she grabbed onto it, pulling it her chest and curling her body protectively around it. She stopped whimpering – whatever memory came with that stupid toy chased away her nightmares.

"Hey, is this Bo's bag?" Monty asked behind him.

Dax just shrugged, not wanting to explain that he'd gone back to the river to get it just because he knew that the little girl slept better when she had that dumb toy of hers.

Monty was digging in the pockets of Bo's pack. A few red berries had rolled out of it. "What kind of berries are these?"

"How the hell should I know?" Dax snapped.

"I think they're poisonous and Bo probably ate them," said Monty. He grew up on Farm Station, the agricultural station of the Ark. He knew a lot about what plants were edible and what wasn't.

That got Dax's attention. He looked from Monty to Clarke who was tending to her other patients, "That's what's making her sick?"

"Fox and Del were out with you by the stream yesterday weren't they?" Clarke asked. "Maybe they ate some too."

Clarke sounded relieved. Giving someone the wrong remedy for a toxin could prove to be just as poisonous. But now that they knew what the toxin was, they could find the right remedy to treat it.

**XXXXX**

"No, No, No!"

Charlotte bolted upright, her heart racing in fear. It happened again – the nightmare. The one that forced her to relive the worst moments of her life, over and over…her parents in the airlock chamber…them disappearing into space…

"Every night," Max grumbled groggily, having been woken yet again by Charlotte's screams. And then he said _ouch_ when Carmen hit him.

"Go back to sleep," Carmen muttered.

Charlotte got up and walked away from the others. Max was already mad at her for always waking them up, and even Carmen who stood up for her was starting to get annoyed. Charlotte wished that she could sleep. But if she went back to sleep, it would happen again…She would have to see them die again. And she would see the monster who killed them, the demon that haunted her. Even when she was awake, she still saw him. It never ended. There had to be a way to make it end, she thought desperately. But how?

_Slay your demons when you're awake, they won't be there to get you when you sleep_. That's what Bellamy said.

Charlotte knew what she had to do. She had to slay the demon.

_._

_All you have is your fire... And the place you need to reach_

_Don't you ever tame your demons. But always keep 'em on a leash_

_._

**XXXXX**

Clarke moved away from Bo after making her swallow another dose of the bad smelling paste made from some medicinal plant and moved on to her other patients. They were all starting to get better since she gave them the first dose. Fox was moaning on her bed from the stomachache, and Del was complaining loudly (louder than anyone who was sick should be), but there were better than they'd been an hour ago.

Bo turned over and opened her eyes to see Dax sitting on the floor next to her cot.

"You okay?" he asked.

"My tummy hurts," she said.

"That's because you ate something you shouldn't have."

Bo squeezed her stuffed toy turtle. The thing was worn and frayed, but Bo felt better having it. "Stanley came back."

"Stanley? That's a stupid name," Dax teased her.

"So is yours," she teased back and laughed.

Dax smiled. Dax wasn't actually his real name; it was his initials – Darrius Arthur Xzavier. Only his mom called him by his real name.

Bo's little face turned more serious. "My mommy made Stanley for me. She named him."

Dax frowned at the sad look on Bo's face. He didn't like it. He'd thought before that watching out for this kid shouldn't be his job; that she should be back with her family on the Ark. But maybe she didn't have anyone back on the Ark. He'd never asked. But now he got the feeling that whatever her bad dream was that had her whimpering and reaching out in her sleep, her mom was in it…and not in a good way.

He reached out and took her hand. Bo squeezed it.

**XXXXX**

_._

_When I was a man I thought it ended when I knew love's perfect ache_

_But my peace has always depended on all the ashes in my wake_

_._

The cold grey light of dawn was just breaching the mountains to the East while Wells sat on watch duty. He'd volunteered to take this shift on watch. He liked seeing the sun come up, watching how the world changed so drastically in those few minutes. Things were neither bright nor dark, but caught somewhere in between. Darkness faded as pale colours began to leak across the sky, colours that they did not see from the Ark.

That was what his life felt like, now that things were out in the open with Clarke – Light was leaking back into the darkness that their relationship had been trapped in for the last year. He'd never wanted Clarke to feel the pain of knowing that her mother was responsible for her father's death. But now that the secret was out it was a relief to be free of that burden, and to have his best friend back…maybe more than a friend.

The crackling of leaves on the ground as someone approached from behind him, from the direction of the camp, had Wells' hand going for his knife as he turned quickly towards the sound. He was watching for threats from outside the camp, but he was still wary of those in camp who still held a grudge against him for being the Chancellor's son. He wouldn't put it past Murphy and Mbege to try something when no one else was around.

But it wasn't Murphy or Mbege. Wells relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Hey," he said. "You couldn't sleep?"

"I never can…"

_._

_All you have is your fire...And the place you need to reach_

_Don't you ever tame your demons. But always keep 'em on a leash_

_._

**XXXXX**

The camp was coming awake with the dawning of a new day. Clarke sat down heavily next to Glass by one of the fires and blew out an equally heavy sigh. Her breath misted in the crisp air that the rising sun had not yet chased the chill from. She'd been up all night, keeping watch on Jasper and the other patients. Jasper was sleeping peacefully now and Monty was sitting with him now, while Octavia kept watch on Bo and the others who'd eaten the poison berries.

The sun was barely up and the day already felt full.

"You look like hell," Glass said candidly as she handed Clarke a piece of meat skewered on a stick that she'd already warmed over the fire knowing that Clarke would have forgotten to eat while she worried over her patients. "Warm food, and at least a few hours bed rest."

"Thank you Dr. Glass," Clarke said tiredly, agreeing with her friend's prescription.

XX

Danny smiled sitting at the edge of his bed, looking down at the girl lying next to him. At rest, she looked so deceptively innocent and so beautiful with her lips slightly open and her hair spread out around her from when he'd pulled it out of its braid to run his hands through the silky strands. For the first time, Emily looked as young as she was and he wondered who she really was, when she wasn't being Vice Chancellor Kane's daughter or the camp's Warrior Princess…when she wasn't being anything in particular. When her walls were down.

Whoever that girl was, Danny liked her. And he wanted to see more of her, to really know her. Emily was someone he could easily fall for, and fall hard. She wasn't sweet or gentle or particularly kind. But she was smart, brave, and _damn_ she looked hot twirling a knife. There'd been about a dozen of them that he'd counted as her clothes came off last night and the weapons came off with them.

Danny smiled at the memory. He reached over to gently push back a lock of hair that had fallen over her face. He'd just barely touched her when her hand closed like a vice around his wrist, and her other hand pulled out a knife from under the blanket. He wondered when she'd hidden it there.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Danny, looking at the knife in her hand. Emily's eyes flickered to the corners of the tent and to the opening where the early morning sunlight leaked in telling her that the sun was already peeking out over the mountains.

"Was I asleep?" she asked, letting him go.

"You didn't oversleep," said Danny as he got up from the bed to pull a shirt on. "It's not even meal time yet."

"I never sleep," said Emily. She never did sleep very deeply and she was always up before daybreak.

"Well maybe you should try it more often. You smile in your sleep. It's sweet."

'Sweet' was not a word that Emily would use to describe herself. But…she kind of liked how it sounded when Danny said it. Danny was handsome in a careless way she realized, like he has no idea what he looks like most of the time. He wasn't conceited about it like a lot of the boys who Emily had been forced to socialize with growing up – other councilor's or officer's kids who thought that their status or their parents' status made them better than everyone else.

Emily knew her own mind well enough to know that a part of her enjoyed being with Danny because he was a guy that her father would strongly disapprove of her associating with. Growing up in a household where nothing shy of perfection was accepted was hard on a girl. But down here, the weight of always worrying about image was a weight she no longer wished to bare. When she was growing up, she had no choice but to follow the rules. Now that she was free, she had no intention of letting her father's tyranny decide her actions.

_._

_I know you told me I should stay away. I know you said he's just a dog, a stray_

_He is a bad boy with a tainted heart, and even I know this ain't smart…_

_._

And anyway, her rebellious impulses aside, she actually did like Danny, kind of a lot.

Proof of that was that she'd stayed with him all night – she'd never woken up next to a guy she'd slept with. What was more disturbing: she found that she didn't want to leave. It seemed that Danny had wormed his way under her skin, stripping back not just the layers of her clothes (and her weapons), but of her defenses as well. She felt comfortable around him; as much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, he made her feel…safe. Safe enough to sleep through the night at least, something she couldn't remember doing in a long time – not in the supposed 'comfort' of her own home, and certainly not in the Skybox.

To her, 'safe' had always been something that was in short supply.

_._

_…But Mama I'm in love with a criminal. And this type of love isn't rational, it's physical_

_Mama, please don't cry. I will be alright. All reason aside, I just can't deny I love the guy_

_._

**XXXXX**

Emily sat down next to her friends, ignoring their pointed looks, as she combed her fingers through her hair that was messed up from more than just sleep. Clarke looked from Emily to the tent that she'd come out of – Danny's tent.

"Seriously," said Clarke, "One of Bellamy's thugs?"

"One of Thalia's spies," Emily corrected her.

"Huh," Glass said speculatively, "I guess that's a step up."

At another one of the fires, Danny was getting the same critical looks from some of the guys who'd seen him and Emily coming out of the same tent.

"Are you sleeping with the enemy?" John Mbege asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's pronounced 'Emily'," Danny said nonchalantly. He was probably never going to hear the end of it from these guys, but their approval was something he couldn't care less about.

"So the guy who plays for both sides is with the girl who takes no sides," Tandoori speculated as she and Thalia walked passed.

"Somehow that fits perfectly," Thalia commented to herself.

Thalia knew that Emily knew that she had Danny spying on Bellamy (even now that she and Bellamy had made a tentative true). She wasn't worried about that because she also knew that Emily didn't care what she or Bellamy did. Clarke cared about everyone, whether they deserved it or not; Emily cared only when someone became _her_ problem. Other than that, she didn't give a damn. And Thalia didn't give a damn about the budding relationship issues in camp; she had more pressing concerns.

Kayla was supposed to do a perimeter check in the morning and change out those who'd been on watch for the last shift. Thalia would check with her that everything was alright. And then figure out all the work that had to get done today.

The thought alone was exhausting.

XX

Kayla mind was running through the list of things that needed to be done: assigning people to keep watch, sending out hunting parties, continuing work on building the wall… Protecting the camp had become her job; the fact that she had to work with a pack of delinquents to whom responsibility was a foreign concept didn't help matters much. Rileigh for example seemed more concerned with finding Kayla a date that checking the camp's perimeter, which is what they were supposed to be doing now.

"What about Jones? He likes you," said Rileigh as she walked with a bounce in her step, like a kid on a sugar high. Kayla hoped for everyone's sake that Rileigh didn't somehow find a way to get high like she used to. Like it or not, they needed her. More party-girl than solder-girl, Rileigh had never the less gone through the same training as Kayla. She knew how to be a soldier, if she actually tried. And if she wasn't wasted. Right now though, Kayla was trying to block out Rileigh's chatter and focus on the job at hand. Rileigh didn't like being ignored. "Oh, come on, you ever hear the phrase 'seize the day'?"

"You ever hear the phrase 'act your age'?" Kayla asked.

"I could say the same to you, sixteen going on sixty," Rileigh countered.

Kayla had never been like other people her age. Her father had raised her to be a soldier; she'd always tried to live up to that. And she was good at it. The ground was supposed to be a new start, a new life. While Atom's death had proven that life was all too short, Kayla saw it as all the more reason for her to be on her guard. With the threats they faced, The 100 needed soldiers now. They didn't have the luxury of being children anymore.

"Quite!" Seeing the lookout post up ahead of them, Kayla suddenly stopped, her muscles tense and her senses alert.

"What now Soldier-Girl?" asked Rileigh, picking up on her sudden tension.

"Something's wrong," Kayla said suspiciously. "Where's Wells?"

Kayla knew Wells well enough to know that he wouldn't have left his post on watch without someone filling in for him. She pulled her sword, and Rileigh taking her queue from Kayla followed suit. They moved forward cautiously, their eyes scanning for danger. At the top of the rise, they looked down to see that Wells was at the bottom of the incline lying unnaturally still on the ground. His hand extended up like he was still reaching out for help.

"Get help," Kayla ordered. Rileigh nodded and took of back to camp.

Kayla, holding her sword ready in case this was a trap, stepped carefully down the incline to where Wells lay. She placed two fingers against his neck and confirmed what she already knew.

He had no pulse.

XX

_"You mean everything to me._

_I'll give it all away if you say you'll stay_

_True love isn't just a dream. _

_So shake me, break me and make it our reality"_

There was a smattering of applause as Glass' voice faded. Everyone liked listening to her sing. It was like a soothing balm on their nerves relaxing the stress of previous night.

"That was sweet," said Clarke.

"Not much my style," Emily injected.

Emily looked so relaxed with her head back, one leg stretched out, her arm slung over her knee, almost like they were back in the family room in her living quarters on the Ark watching Wells do her homework because he lost a bet. The only thing that didn't fit that picture was the small knife she was twirling between her fingers. It flickered back and forth so fast that it made Glass dizzy to watch. One small slip and Emily could cut off one of her own fingers – she kept the knives she carried sharp. But she twirled it almost unconsciously, the way someone might drum their fingers on a desk without realizing that they were doing it.

Emily might seem relaxed right now, but that appearance was deceptive. She was like a snake, sleek and smooth and seemingly tranquil, but underneath was all muscle, coiled and ready to strike at the first provocation.

Yeah, sappy love songs were really not her style.

"For you, I think it would go more like this," said Glass. Then she began singing again.

_"You mean absolutely nothing to me_

_You're just like the boys before _

_And yeah, there will be more_

_Your heart's tough, but I'm a supernova_

_Taking, breaking and burning up the galaxy"_

"Oh, she has you pegged with that one," said Clarke with a laugh in her voice.

"You really think that's what I'm like?" Emily asked.

"No," said Clarke, "But it is kind of how you advertise."

"That's..." Emily hesitated, "All right, that's true enough."

A commotion across the camp suddenly caught their attention; someone calling for guards and weapons. "Stay here," Emily said as she grabbed her sword and ran to see what had happened. Clarke got up to follow her.

"Clarke, she just said stay here!" Glass protested. Clarke didn't listen as she took off after Emily. Emily was the fighter, but Clarke was the doctor. If someone was hurt then they would need her.

Clarke came upon the scene past the line where they were building the camp wall. She knew that someone was supposed to be on watch near here. A small crowd had already gathered, huddled together. Anxious whispers were passed around while a nervous tension choking the air; and those who had weapons had them out but didn't seem to know what to do with them. She wondered what they were all looking at. If someone had sounded a false alarm, then the crowd would be dispersing by now. But if someone was hurt, then why were they all just standing around?

_._

_If you must wait, wait for them here in my arms as I shake_

_If you must weep, do it right here in my bed as I sleep_

_._

"Get out of my way!" Clarke snapped impatiently.

Her voice sent a shock through the crowd and they parted to let her pass. That's when she saw Emily standing statue-still…next to the body on the ground. Suddenly going numb, Clarke walked forward on autopilot. The doctor in her took in the details of the body: the single stab wound to the neck; the stubs on his right hand where two fingers had been cut off, indicating a defensive wound…

Wells had tried to fight back, but with the position and depth of the stab wound on his neck, he would have bled out quickly. Clare took this all in with a distant scientific viewpoint that her mother had taught her when working in the medical lab on the Ark. The blood had not yet fully dried, so he couldn't have been dead for very long.

Maybe they could have saved him…If somebody had come along sooner…maybe they could have…

_._

_If you must morn, my love, morn with the moon and the starts up above_

_If you must morn…don't do it alone_

_._

The thin numbing shell she'd encased herself in shattered.

Blindsided, distraught, grief-stricken…none of those words felt strong enough to define the heart-rending ache that Clarke felt as she looked at her friend's lifeless body. Sobs broke free from deep within her. It wasn't fair! She'd just gotten her friendship with Wells back…

Just in time to lose him for good.

Clarke's tear-stained face looked up to Emily, as if she had some answer that could make sense of this and ease the emotional turmoil that was tearing through her. Emily shook her head; she had no answer. She remembered one of the last things she'd said to Wells, just last night: The day before your world changes forever…feels just like any other day.

Here it was happening again.

_._

_If you must leave, leave as though fire burns under your feet_

_If you must speak, speak every word as though it were unique_

_._

Because death doesn't just happen to you; it happens to all the people who are left behind standing at your funeral wondering how the hell they're supposed to go on with their lives now that you're not it in… But she did not cry – no, Emily Kane did not cry. Her eyes stayed dry as she removed the ID tags that Wells wore around his neck.

"May we meet again," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.

Her hands were steady as she gently closed her friend's unseeing eyes. Emily heard the familiar words of farewell known to everyone on the Ark repeated in murmurs and whispers throughout the crowd. Many of them may not have liked Wells…but he was one of them. Only one voice registered with her though, a soft clear voice asking what was going on. She must have just walked up if she didn't already know what they were all staring at, why they huddled together watching the trees warily…why people shifted aside wordlessly to let her pass.

_._

_If you must die sweetheart, die knowing your life was my life's best part_

_If you must die…remember your life_

_._

"Don't let her see," Clarke said to Emily as she shrugged off her jacket.

They would forever have the image of the friend lying dead on the ground stuck in their minds, but Glass didn't need to. Emily got up and moved to intercept her while Clarke covered the body. But they were not quick enough. Glass froze in her tracks at seeing Wells. She only caught a glimpse just before Clarke draped her jacket over him, but it was enough. Glass saw his copper toned skin grey and ashen; she saw his face, normally so expressive, showing his every thought, now bank and empty. Something inside of her collapsed.

"NO!" Someone caught her as she tried to rush forward and distantly Glass realized that it was Emily. "No, no."

_._

_If you must fight, fight with yourself and your thoughts in the night_

_If you must work, work to leave some part of you on this Earth_

_._

Emily held onto her as she tried to pull away until her struggles stopped and Glass sank to the ground. Emily sank down with her and held onto her as she cried, giving her friend an anchor, something to hold onto so that she would not break apart and drown in her grief. Gentle she pressed Wells' tags into Glass' hands. She was the one who should have them.

It was a few minutes before Glass could get any coherent words out. When she did, she asked the question that they all wanted an answer to, though they were afraid of what that answer might be.

"What happened?" Glass said through her tears. "Who did this?"

_._

_If you must live darling one…just live…just live_

_Just live…_

_._

**THE 100**

* * *

**Author's note: **The song lyrics featured in this chapter are from _Arsonist's Lullaby_ by Hozier, _Criminal_ by Britney Spears, and_ You_ by Keaton Henson.

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	26. Nothing To Fear

**The 100 – Murphy's Law**

We have all tested authority in one way or another, and on the Ark, that made us expendable. We were told that being sent to test the Earth was our second chance. The real truth is they were just cutting the dead weight. And for us, the real test will be of ourselves, of what we can do, of who we are, and what we are capable of. Who will we become in the face of uncertainty, mistrust and betrayal? Will we pull together and flourish, or will we devolve to a savage state when faced with trials we are not prepared for? There's a price to be paid for our divisions and isolations. Society cannot grow amidst hate; justice cannot take root amidst rage. And life on the ground is only a second chance if we choose to take it and make something of it. There will come a time when everything that can go wrong _will_ go wrong. What will we do then?

**Chapter 26 – Nothing To Fear**

There was an otherworldliness to be found standing alone in the woods. With the green tinted light that shone through the trees creating a gossamer veil around you, one could almost believe that they were alone on the vast Earth. Birds chirped their melodies as they fluttered about in the treetops, the boughs swaying in the breeze casting shifting shadows on the ground below where insects with shells that glittered like tiny jewels scuttled to and fro. Earth was the home of mankind. But at times, it felt like they'd been dropped onto an alien world far removed from everything they'd ever been told that Earth was supposed to be and what coming home was supposed to be like.

Glass stood outside the camp looking out into the woods. It was quiet out there. Behind her, she could faintly hear the workers moving round as they continued to work on building the wall. It was strange to see people she didn't know well so early in the morning with sleepy eyes and creases on their cheeks from whatever they'd slept on; to know that Octavia was cheerful in the morning, and Finn woke up with his hair perfectly flat, and Monty only communicated through a series of grunts until he'd had a chance to stick his head in a water barrel.

The work on building up the camp was going faster and more smoothly in the last week, with people a lot more focused on what they needed to do and far fewer arguments breaking out. This newfound cooperation among these ninety-five delinquents could be attributed to two things:

Reason 1 – Thalia and Bellamy's truce. The two leaders agreeing to work together had put an end to, or at least tampered down, the discord between the divisions that had formed. Not to say that they were all one big happy family now. Not even close. There was still a line drawn on Arrival Day that had not been erased that showed which people where Thalia's and which were Bellamy's, and the fact remained that if the rivalry started up again, the new cohesion among The 100 could easily break apart. But for now that was a minor concern.

Reason 2 was Wells' death. Wells had been killed while on watch by someone who got close enough to their camp to stab him in the neck without alerting anyone and who was able to get away without leaving a trace. The 100 had quickly been disillusioned of the fantasy of life on Earth. The reality was that the world was not theirs for the taking; it already belonged to someone else. The grounders had shown them that. And that is what was motivating the delinquents from the Ark to put aside their usual discord and lackadaisical ways and get to work.

Fear, it was a powerful motivator.

Glass knew that she should not be out alone – Thalia had set the rule that no one was to go out alone. And despite the 'no rules' mentality that most of The 100 had adopted, that was one that no one argued against. She wouldn't go far. All the trees looked the same to her; she was still getting her bearings. She didn't adapt to the woods like Emily. Emily found the woods freeing. Glass found it disorienting; she still sometimes got a sense of vertigo from the feeling of too much open space, and even the beauty to be found was darkened by the instinctive fear of the unknown. If she went out a bit further, the greenery all around her would close her off from the camp completely, and it really would feel as though she was alone in this strange world.

She wasn't alone of course – with nearly a hundred of them living very close together, it was impossible to be alone. And she had her friends, she had Emily and Clarke. They were practically her family, but…their family was broken. Wells…Wells was gone. Glass shook her head as if that alone were enough to shake off her disconsolate demeanor. A lump lodged in her throat, making it ache with anguish. Raw emotions clawed inside her gut like an aggressive hellhound, and she wished that she knew how to release it. His loss rocked her to her very soul; the grief was nearly overwhelming.

_._

_When the ghosts get in your head, all your eyes can see is red_

_Your sail is down, your ship is wrecked, thunder's left you there for dead_

_._

Glass sat down on the dew covered grass and pulled her knees up in front of her. Grief and loneliness flooded her senses, and she closed her eyes to regain her composure. She tried to concentrate on the sounds around her, the birds singing in the nearby trees, the gentle breeze rustling the leaves, the soft murmur of activity coming from camp from those who woke up early… After a few minutes of focusing on anything and everything besides her own pent up feelings, it all became too much. She opened her eyes and shivered despite the warm morning as she imagined how cold everything had become since losing Wells.

She raised her head and looked around at the alien world surrounding her, everything too…too big, too strange. It was too much. Too much sensation. Too much that was new. She could feel her thoughts getting away from her, tumbling over themselves, screaming at her to run, to go, to get somewhere safe. She knew in her head that everything was okay, that she was just freaking out. But her heart thundered in her ears as the noise from camp grew distant as if it was fading away, leaving her stranded and adrift. An iron band of panic closed around her lungs and she couldn't breathe. She got to her feet quickly, trying desperately to keep the darkness that threatened to engulf her at bay. She nearly staggered from the weight she felt pressing down on her. The trees around her swayed and she felt like she might scream. A sob escaped her and she leaned against a tree for support…

_._

_When danger grabs you from above, Falling down, you're giving up_

_And you can't remember how to love. You swear to God you've had enough!_

_._

And then something else was supporting her.

Her eyes were too blurry to see, but Glass felt it when an arm wrapped around her. Emily…Emily was talking to her…she couldn't make out the words as Emily eased them down to sit with their backs against the tree. And then Emily just sat with her, holding her steady. Emily had once told Glass that she was a lot stronger than she knew; she'd said outright that she wouldn't be wasting her time with her if that wasn't true. Glass felt like she was proving her wrong now. But she didn't want to. Back then, which felt so long ago now, the inner strength that Emily effortlessly projected had made Glass feel weak.

Emily Kane was not a very comforting person – that wasn't among the many skill that she'd been taught – but now her strength made Glass feel like she could be strong too. She wanted to be. She _needed_ to be. That was cold cruel reality. She would not succumb to the misery that was eating away at her. She inhaled deeply, her lungs expanding with the warm air and her vision clearing until she could focus on what was in front of her. A patch of wildflowers – Wells would have been able to identify them and to tell if any of them were useful. She concentrated on his memory, trying to conjure the sound of his voice. Remembering hurt; forgetting would hurt worse.

_._

_Hey now, don't you runaway, don't you runaway. You're safe_

_Hey now, don't you be afraid, don't you be afraid. You're safe_

_._

Glass didn't know how much time passed, how long they sat there while Emily silently waited for her to get a grip, offering neither censure nor coddling. When Glass' breathing evened out and she was aware of her surroundings again, her hand went to the tags around her neck, Wells' tags. She'd been wearing them since he died.

Emily pulled Glass' hand away from the tags and held it. This time it felt like she was the one seeking comfort. "I miss him too."

XXXXX

**On The Ark: Government &amp; Science Station – Vice Chancellor's Office**

Guardsman Luke Castellan was someone who'd learned early on in life to take advantage of any opportunity. Throughout his life he had learned the art of being a chameleon – how to change his bearing and demeanor, the way he moved, talked and interacted with people, to fit in wherever he needed to, and to match whatever persona was best suited to manipulate a situation towards an outcome he wanted. So when Commander Shumway had recruited him for a special assignment from the Vice Chancellor himself, he'd stepped into the role of the loyal and dedicated Guardsman; he wore this role as easily as a second skin. That was fortunate because Marcus Kane was the kind of man who could smell bullshit through the vacuum of space, and Luke had just been summoned to his office.

Luke knocked on the door of the Vice Chancellor's office and waited for permission to enter before he let himself in.

"Councilor Kane," Luke said respectfully, "You wanted to see me sir?"

Kane stood behind his desk looking immaculate and clean cut, his thick dark hair slicked into shape as if even it dared not disobey him. The man had the bearing of a solder and the posture of a politician, a combination that most found intimidating and that gained him admiration on the council. Luke wasn't impressed. Something about this guy – his air of smug superiority, maybe – made Luke feel like he wanted to punch something. But Luke didn't survive this long and get where he was by showing his hand. No, he smiled in the face of people he'd much rather hit and bided his time – and if the chance should arise to stab them in the back, well then …

"Yes," said Kane. "I asked you to monitor Dr. Griffin's activities. I understand she's been to Mecha Station four times in the last week. Have you found out what she's been doing there?"

"Yes sir, I've looked into it," Luke said with his response ready. "A mechanic came down with strep last week. She's fine now, but Dr. Griffin is still checking the bacterial levels in the Station, ensuring that we don't have another outbreak on our hands."

"What mechanic?"

"Raven Reyes," Luke said promptly. This supposed illness was Raven's cover for not reporting to her usual work detail.

"You've verified this?" asked Kane.

"Yes sir. I've checked the reports in Medical, discreetly. Everything checks out."

"Very well," said Kane. "Good work Guardsman. You're dismissed."

Luke nodded and left the room. Though he appeared outwardly to be at ease, just another guard going off-duty, he didn't truly relax until he was out of Go-Sci Station. Once he was out of the vicinity he breathed easier and started making his way to Mecha. If Kane was paranoid enough to track his whereabouts, he would hopefully just think that Luke was following up on the intel on Dr. Griffin. That story about a potential outbreak just bought them more time, but with Kane on high alert, it was probably not a lot of time. Luke had played fast and loose with the law before, but this was a whole new level with a lot more at stake. If what Abby Griffin was really doing was discovered, he doubted that there would be any kind of review or even a trial. The council had too many secrets to keep hidden.

Raven had better have that escape pod ready soon.

XXXXX

**On The Ground: The 100's Camp - Inside the dropship**

Thalia Grace had never set out to be a leader. She ended up with the job because she saw what needed to be done and she did it, even if that meant working with someone she didn't like. It had been a week since Thalia and Bellamy had agreed to work together – or at least try to – to stop the conflicts within their camp, and to everyone's surprise, it had not yet turned into a disaster (Though there was a betting pool going on on how long this truce would last). The camp actually showed remarkable improvement since then as The 100 slowly built up a more sustainable home for themselves.

Thalia and Bellamy stood in the first level of the dropship on either side of a table that held a model of the camp that showed what they had built so far, and what they were planning to build. The wall that was being constructed would be against the back side of the ship and encompass enough space for them to live more or less comfortably. The tent area had been set up on the west side of camp so that it was cast in the shadow of the dropship by the sun rising in the east, and those who slept in after a late shift on guard duty wouldn't be disturbed too early.

On the east side of the camp, small structures were being built: a cook house, a store house, and a grow house. There had been some debate on whether it would be easier to build one big structure to serve all three purposes, but eventually they had agreed to build the three small structures separately in case of any accident, like a fire. People would work in shifts in the cook house to prepare food for morning and evening meal times. The store house would hold any supplies that they needed to have at the ready. And the grow house would be used to grow edible and medicinal plants. Monty, and a few others who grew up on Farm Station were in charge of the grow house, determining what they could use.

Very limited supplies had been sent down with them on the dropship, but The 100 had somehow managed to stockpile an impressive amount of useful material. They had repurposed broken seats and sheets of metal into water buckets, cots, chairs and tables. They had used straps and wires to bind canvas and upholstery into tarps and tents and blankets. They had foraged for wide, flat leaves they could dry out and use for multiple purposes, from woven baskets to plates and bowls. They used everything they could find to cook, clean, build and protect themselves. It was somewhat awe-inspiring really, what they'd managed to accomplish once they'd stopped fighting amongst themselves (for the most part) and put their heads together.

All things considered, they were doing pretty well for themselves.

"…I also think we need to be putting a tighter ration on food," Thalia was saying as they discussed the camp's current resources. "Our hunters have been doing well, but every time they bring something back, it goes way to fast."

Bellamy frowned at Thalia's assertions, reluctant to start putting down restrictions. Down here there was no more rationing. For the first time in their lives they could eat until they were full, which was kind of on par with the 'whatever the hell we want' line he'd used to get half of their people on his side in the beginning.

"Come on Bellamy." Thalia said, noticing his hesitance, "You know that some people have been taking more than their fair share. We're doing okay, for now, but I think you and I both know how quickly something good could turn bad."

Though Bellamy was reluctant to concede her point, it was getting easier to agree with Thalia's different views. Though they still clashed over…well, a lot of things…she didn't argue with him; or more accurately, she never made it personal. She stated plainly what she saw was a problem and her solution for it. Thalia wasn't asking Bellamy's permission for anything, but in the spirit of the truce they'd agreed on, she was letting him know what ideas she had for camp and what other people brought to her. And her point now wasn't one that he could argue with. They did need to be careful with their food supply. It was a risk any time they sent people out hunting and even when they were successful, you never know when famine might follow feast.

"Yeah, you're right," Bellamy nodded. "We need to start preserving and conserving our resources."

He and Thalia both pushed away from the table and headed for the door to check on the activity in camp. There hadn't been any sign of grounders since the morning after they brought Jasper back. Now Jasper was back on his feet, thanks to Clarke, which actually lifted everyone's spirits, though the fear of those who'd put him at death's door, and who'd pushed Wells through it, still permeated the air, spurring on the building of the camp wall. That didn't mean that the grounders weren't lurking out there. The 100 needed to know more about the world they were now living in, at least the immediate vicinity, which is why Thalia was planning to lead a scouting party out today, to map a wider area around their camp than what they'd explored so far.

XXXXX

A clear flat piece of land outside the perimeter of the camp where the ground was soft enough to dig showed four mounds of recently turned dirt that marked the place of four graves. Six of their people had died so far. Six, out of a hundred and one: Glen and Troy had been killed in the dropship crash; Atom, Trina and Pascal were killed by acid fog (though Trina and Pascal's bodies had not been found); and Wells, murdered just outside the wall…

At first, the idea of putting bodies in the ground had seemed repulsive – certainly not as tidy as releasing the bodies into space – but now, there was some comfort in it. There was a place to visit to feel closer to those who were gone. And at least gathered together like that, they weren't alone, even in death. Clarke tried to take some comfort in that as she knelt at her friend's grave. She was still reeling from the suddenness of his loss, and from what she'd learned just before he died. Wells had tried so hard to protect her from the truth, even though it caused him pain. Tears leaked from her eyes as she wished that she could take back all the ugly things she'd said to him.

The clattering of stones as some loose gravel was kicked startled Clarke out of her moroseness. She scrambled to turn around from her kneeling position, at the same time pulling out the knife in her belt. Emily's amused smirk told Clarke that she had only heard her approach because Emily made the noise on purpose.

"I've been lurking back here for the last ten minutes and thought of about a dozen ways to kill you without anyone noticing," Emily said as casually as if she was commenting on the weather. "You shouldn't be out here alone. What if I was a grounder? They got Wells just outside the wall."

"Said the girl who just spent another night roaming the woods by herself," Clarke retorted in response to Emily's bluntness.

"Hey, you're the responsible one," Emily said kneeling beside Clarke. "You both were."

She laid flowers down on her best friend's grave, night blooms that glowed faintly in the dark, opening only after sundown and closing again at dawn. They stayed open now that they were cut. Wells would have liked the night blooms; he would have appreciated their beauty, as well as whatever evolutionary trait it was that gave them their bioluminescence and caused them to open only at night instead of reaching for the sun.

"They're beautiful," said Clarke. Her voice sounded tight, like she was holding back some emotion.

"Besides, I have a sword and I know how to use it," said Emily, ignoring Clarke's comment. She looked sideways at Clarke, at the knife she was holding awkwardly in her hand. "What do you think you're gonna do with that?"

"I'm not helpless Em," said Clarke, putting the knife away.

Emily raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Yes you are. I have offered to teach you to fight before, remember. You weren't interested. Too busy playing doctor."

"Playing?"

"You know what I mean." Emily glossed over Clarke's irritated frown onto a topic that was troubling her, "When is the last time you spoke to Glass?"

"I don't know," Clarke thought for a moment, "Sometime yesterday, I guess."

"Alright, more specifically, when's the last time _she _spoke to _you_?" Emily asked.

Clarke thought back to when she'd asked her if she was okay the other day. Glass nodded…but she didn't actually say anything. And now that Emily asked, Clarke couldn't remember Glass saying or doing much of anything since they found Wells' body. Before then, she'd helped Clarke with any of the minor medical issues that came up during the day, and in the evenings she watched out for the younger children, singing for them when they had trouble sleeping. The whole camp liked listening to Glass sing. She was their Songbird.

"I'm starting to worry about her," Emily said thoughtfully. "She doesn't sing anymore. I'm actually starting to miss the days when we couldn't get her to shut up."

"We're all trying to deal with it," said Clarke.

"I found her just past the east wall earlier. She was having a panic attack."

"What was she doing outside camp?!" Clarke asked in alarm. As unused to danger and violence as Clarke was, Glass seemed doubly so. She was always so gentle and kind and caring, even to those who may not deserve it. Clarke honestly couldn't stomach the thought that anyone would want to harm someone like Glass, but she knew now that there were people out there who would.

"Relax," said Emily, "She was only about ten feet from the line. Right now, I don't think she could handle leaving camp."

"Whereas you'll take any excuse to get out," said Clarke with a pointed look at the pack that Emily was carrying.

Emily was ready to leave now with Thalia's scouting party. In the week since Wells died she'd been unable to stay still for long before she felt like she had to be moving again. She'd take whatever job needed to be done that took her out of camp. Emily had plenty of practice pretending that things were okay, wearing a mask that showed nothing of what she was really thinking. But this grief for her friend, this loss…it was different. She knew she couldn't run from it or bury it forever. But for now, she could sure as hell try.

"She was in love with him you know," Emily said turning the conversation back to Glass.

"She never said anything," said Clarke.

"Because she could see that he loved you."

"How do you know that?"

"Who doesn't know that? _Everybody_ knows that." Emily laughed humourlessly, "Except you. And Wells; I don't think he really knew it himself." She shook her head. "You and Wells were always the sensible ones, but you could both be _so _blind sometimes."

Clarke was silent for a moment before she asked something that she'd been putting off for a while now. "You knew didn't you? About my mom…That she's the one that turned in my dad."

Emily looked at her assessing, as if trying to determine if Clarke could handle her answer before she responded, "Yes, I knew. So did Glass."

Clarke looked away from Emily's carefully neutral expression. She stared straight ahead while she struggled to contain the raw emotions clawing at her. She wasn't nearly as good at it as Emily. "Wells told you."

"He didn't have to tell us."

Clarke understood – they'd figured it out for themselves. Her friends had been able to see the truth so easily when she hadn't; she'd been blind to it because she didn't _want_ to see. It was a hard pill to swallow. She finally turned to face Emily, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Wasn't my place," said Emily. "And he asked me not to. He…We didn't want you to hurt worse than you already were."

Clarke's expression flickered through a myriad of emotions before finally she nodded in acceptance of yet another hidden truth. Her friends had lied to her because they were trying to protect her from the kind of pain that may never heal…

Emily's expression suddenly turned cold, focused. Clarke recognized that look, even if she didn't recognize the threat, and reached again for her knife. By the time she had it out Emily had already pulled her sword while rising smoothly to her feet and whirled around in a perfectly controlled move, stopping an inch short of slicing through Finn's neck with her blade.

"Whoa! I come in peace!" Finn stared at her in shock and a little bit of fear as he stood frozen, his hands raised in surrender. Emily smirked and stepped closer to him without moving the blade away from his neck.

"Sneak up on me again Spacewalker, and you'll be leaving in pieces." She lowered her sword and walked away, heading back into camp. Finn and Clarke both watched her go.

"She wouldn't really do that, would she?" Finn asked. Clarke shrugged; these days it was getting harder to tell with Emily what she would or wouldn't do. "Has she always been so..?"

"Oh yeah," said Clarke, "Always."

"Huh. Anyway…" Finn said, moving on. "I was looking for you. I got you something." From behind his back Fin produced, wonder of wonders, a pencil.

"Where'd you get this?" Clarke asked elated by the gift. She missed being able to draw. With every new thing that she laid eyes on on Earth, she itched for some way to recreate it with her own hand.

"Art supplies store," Finn said jokingly.

Clarke's smile faded. "You know…when we were kids, Wells was always giving me ink, charcoal…anything that I could draw with." Her voice again sounded strained, and tears threatened at the corner of her eyes. "I found out later that he was trading his own stuff to get it for me. He didn't want me to know that either." Her heart constricted in her chest remembering how good a friend Wells had always been to her, and how awful she'd been to him. "He let me hate him so that I wouldn't hate my mother."

"I know," Finn said sympathetically.

"My mother killed my father…" The knowledge that her mother was the one responsible was like a knife being twisted in her chest.

Finn didn't say anything. There were no words to respond to something like that, though he wished he knew how to pull Clarke back from that lost look in her eyes.

"I just wish there was something I could do…to tell her that I know. Make her feel what I'm…" Clarke's face suddenly darkened with a sort of grim determination and she started walking back to the camp without a word.

"Where are you going?" Finn called after her.

"To make her feel it!"

XXXXX

**On The Ark: Government &amp; Science Station – Earth Monitoring Control Room**

Earth Monitoring was living up to its name, being used for its intended purpose more in the last ten days than it ever had before. The readings being sent by The 100's wristbands were being monitored 24/7 by engineers and medical staff. There had been no terminated signals in a week, and while there was still no way to communicate with the kids on the ground, there was some hope that this meant things were stabilizing on Earth. Dr. Jackson was going over some of the compiled medical data while Dr. Griffin was slumped over her work station, her head resting on the desk. He was pretty sure it was the first sleep Abby had gotten since they sent The 100 to the ground and he wasn't about to wake her.

That charitable thought was for nothing as an alarm suddenly blared from the prisoner board, startling Jackson and jolting Abby awake. One of the prisoner tiles flashed red before going dark with SIGNAL TERMINATED imposed across the screen – Prisoner 3-1-9, Clarke Griffin.

"NO!" Abby exclaimed, shooting up from her desk. "No! No, no, no…" She covered her mouth with her hand as a sick cold feeling rolled through her chest. Rushing to the control console, she brought up the data on Clarke's vitals. "…No…This isn't right…"

"Abby," Jackson said consolingly. He took her hand and pulled her away from the console. Abby squeezed his hand, closing her eyes against tears, grateful for something solid to hold on to…but she was not ready to accept his solace.

"It...It's not conclusive. J-just because her wristband went out doesn't mean…." Abby shook herself, trying to regain her composure. "Okay…It's the first terminated signal in a week. We can still assume that things are stabilizing on Earth. We should assume that…" Jackson nodded along with her. Abby suddenly turned way, heading for the door. "I need an analysis of Clarke's vital signs for the last two days."

"Abby…" Jackson called after her.

"Just have it ready for me when I get back." Abby's tone begged Jackson not to argue with her on this.

He didn't.

XX

**On The Ground: The 100's Camp - Inside the dropship**

Clarke rubbed at her sore wrist while Monty very carefully examined the wristband he'd just removed from her. "Yes, it's still active."

"Great, get to work," said Clarke. As she turned away from Monty she came face to face with Finn who'd followed her to the dropship and was looking at her critically.

"What?" Clarke said defensively. "Monty needed a working wristband."

"And you needed to punish your mother," said Finn.

"They're running out of air up there, and we need their help," said Clarke. "My mother thinking I'm dead is only temporary."

"Not if I can't patch it into the dropship's mainframe," Monty said while focused on his work. Realizing that everybody's eyes had turned to him, he added quickly, "I can do it. We'll be talking to the Ark by nightfall."

"Oh joy," Emily's sarcastic drawl came from the dropship's doorway.

"You think it was a bad idea?" Clarke asked.

"No. I just think that it's really ironic that between the two of us, _I'm_ the one still wearing one of these," Emily said while contemplating the metal band on her own wrist.

The damn thing was annoying with those needles in her skin. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about taking it off – quite frankly, there was no way in hell she wanted to go back to living under the council, i.e. her father – but thinking about how her mom would feel always stopped her when the thought crossed her mind; her grandmother too, for that matter. When Emily stopped to think about the Ark, which admittedly wasn't often, she missed them…a little.

Leaving Clarke behind, Emily pushed those thoughts of their former home away as she made her way across camp. She was sidelined by another matter she'd been trying not to think about lately.

"Hey, I was looking for you," said Danny, falling into step with Emily. "We haven't really had a chance to talk."

That was intentional. Maybe she felt something for Danny, but however enjoyable his company was, those feelings were a distraction she didn't want or need. She had way more important things to deal with. She didn't look at Danny or even acknowledge him; she'd been doing a pretty good job of that for the last week.

_._

_Smart money betting I'll be better off without you_

_In no time I'll be forgetting all about you_

_._

"Are you avoiding me?" Danny asked as Emily kept walking. "I just want to know so that there's no miscommunication going on."

Emily almost smiled at the lighthearted tone he used even when he was being serious – almost, but didn't. She kept a straight face that gave away nothing. Danny for his part knew that Emily was someone you didn't really want to push, but he did want to know why she was giving him the cold shoulder lately. She certainly wasn't cold to him last time they were together, and he wanted to know what changed.

"Hey," Danny took her arm, forcing her to stop, and then letting go very quickly knowing she wouldn't appreciate any attempt to restrain her. "What's going on with you?"

"We had our fun," Emily sounded almost indifferent, "Now what do you want?"

"I want to know why you won't talk to me."

"What's to talk about?" Emily asked sounding bored.

Danny smiled that charming smile of his, "Maybe I just want to know _you_."

_._

_You saying that you know, but I really, really doubt you_

_Understand my life is easy when I ain't around you_

_._

Part of Emily really wished she could respond to that. The real truth was she liked Danny, _really_ liked him. She liked his good humour; how he said what he was thinking without any bullshit; how he didn't pretend to be anything more or less than what he was (unlike some of the pretentious assholes that were children of Officers or Councilors that her dad would have preferred her to be with). She liked the way he looked at her, like she was important, not because of her last name or her position, but just because she was herself, just Emily.

And she was really starting to hate that she liked it so much. Never in her life had she been able to afford to be 'Just Emily'.

That she actually could care about Danny was a problem, because the more people you care about, the more you have to loose. And it was too easy to loose people down here. Wells' grave was proof of that. The only people down here that Emily felt for were Wells, Clarke and Glass – her friends. She'd already lost one of them, and that was enough.

_._

_I'm thinking I love the thought of you more than I love your presence_

_And the best thing now is probably for you to exit_

_._

Besides, Emily had learned long ago that it was often better not to feel too much, not to care. Easier too. Between what happened to Wells, and what _was _happening with Danny, too many of these damn emotions were swimming around in her head and that was a problem. Feelings and sentiments were a distraction that clouded your judgement and weighed you down when you had a job to do.

_Great, now I'm starting to think like my father,_ she thought irritably.

And that made her angry all over again. Usually it was easy for her to put her anger on ice but these days it felt like all these emotions were building up to something…and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what. But the bottom line was what she felt around Danny was something to avoid.

"Trust me, you really don't," Emily scoffed. "And I'm not avoiding you. This is me ignoring you."

_._

_No half-stepping, either you want it or you just playin'_

_I'm listening to you knowin' I can't believe what you're sayin'_

_._

She turned away from him. Danny let her go. Emily was difficult to read unless she wanted to be read, and right now she apparently wasn't in a sharing mood.

But he'd gotten the answer he was looking for, seen it in her eyes; that same icy coldness she'd had when she'd almost killed Santos. She wasn't angry then; she was detached and unemotional. That was what she was doing now, pushing aside attachment and emotion. Danny knew that she was capable of it, but he'd hoped never to have that icy look directed at him.

Emily's appearance of cold indifference was very convincing, except for one thing: it was a mask. And Danny knew that because he'd seen glimpses of the girl behind the mask, beneath the ice. He'd seen it when she laughed while swimming in the lake for the first time; in the freedom she found in exploring the woods despite the danger; the way she handled that sword, or any weapon, like it was an extension of her; and those dark eyes that took in everything. _That_ girl was someone he wanted to know, if only he could convince her to let him in.

To find a way to do that, maybe the answer lay with talking to someone who already knew her.

_._

_There's a million yous baby boy, so don't be dumb. _

_I've got 99 problems, but you won't be one_

XX

Santos knew that she shouldn't be watching them at all – she was aware that this…fixation was unhealthy – but try as she might, Emily Kane still drew her attention no matter what she did. She tried to squash the surge of vicious satisfaction she felt watching Danny Boy strike out with Emily. She knew they wouldn't last; nobody really held Emily's attention for long (Santos shrugged off the irritating tick that reminded her that Emily had gotten tired of her too).

"Ow!" she exclaimed at the sharp pain in her hand where the knife she'd been sharpening nicked her. "Damn."

She shook her head, trying to shake off her distraction. But unbidden, the replay of her kiss with Emily a week ago ran through her mind yet again; the heat that made her want to hold on and never let go, and the icy cold that made her want to lash out with a knife when Emily pushed her away. What was it about Emily Kane that inspired equal parts longing and hate, admiration and disdain?

"Santos." Thalia's call snapped her out of her reverie.

Santos looked over her shoulder to see the boss lady walking up. "What do you want?"

Despite Santos' unwelcoming tone, Thalia smiled. "You're from Hydro Station, right? I need you to do something. We need a way to run clean water through camp."

Santos scowled; an expression that seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face these days. She didn't like being reminded of where she was from. Before she was arrested, she'd wanted to get into Officer Training so that she would not end up as just another maintenance worker like a lot of people from Hydro Station. But even among a camp full of delinquents, it still looked like that was all that anyone thought she was good for.

"Find someone else to do your grunt work," she growled, turning her attention back to her knife.

"Look," Thalia persisted, "The most important things we need to establish to keep everyone here alive are shelter, food and water. You're one of the few here who has that skillset. We need you."

Santos stilled at hearing those words as they soaked into her, feeding her need to feel needed, to feel like she mattered, like something she did was important. They were starting from scratch here on the ground, and what Thalia was asking was for the good of the camp. Her dad, who'd worked in maintenance all his life, once said that though they may not get the appreciation they deserved, it was their work that really kept life on the Ark going.

"Yeah, I can do that," Santos said without looking up.

"Thank you."

Santos heard Thalia walk away, and she smiled when she knew no one was watching.

"What was that about?" Bellamy looked at Thalia quizzically as he walked beside her.

"We need a water system," Thalia said innocently.

Bellamy raised an eyebrow. Thalia was being overly nice when she talked to Santos and he'd spent enough time around her by now to know that Thalia always had a reason for being nice. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Emily Kane and Emmi Santos are both potentially very dangerous people, and Santos' obsessiveness could end up being destructive. I just gave her something else to focus on," Thalia explained. "She likes feeling useful; she likes other people to think that she's valuable. So I told her what she wanted to hear to get her to do something that we all need. And this job gets her away from those knives for a while."

"How do you know so much about her?" Bellamy asked. It was not the first time that he was impressed by the way Thalia seemed to know everything about everyone; and not just about their lives on the Ark, but any skill or hobbies that people had picked up on the ground.

"Because I pay attention to the people around me," Thalia said.

This was one source of contention between them: Bellamy made decisions based on his own point of view and expected others to go along with it; Thalia could see past herself to understand how and why other people act the way they do, and she manipulated that to work for her.

"And anyway, Santos does have the skills for that job. So it's not like I was lying," said Thalia. Bellamy didn't miss the thinly vailed accusation.

Another spot that they had both been tactfully avoiding: Thalia knew that the reasons Bellamy gave the rest of The 100 for putting himself in charge and not wanting the Ark to come down were bullshit. Thalia may manipulate people, but she used the truth to do it, and she did it to benefit all of them. Bellamy, on the other hand, swayed people with pretty lies for his own purpose. She hadn't called him on it since their first confrontation on Arrival Day, in favour of keeping their fragile truce and maintaining the unsteady peace within the camp, but she had by no means forgotten.

But now was not the time to get into it, so putting it aside, they continued on their tour of the camp, checking on work progress all around. Next stop was their makeshift weapons forge. Aside from Santos sharpening her knives, there were others working on crafting weapons: spears, arrows, axes…

Blondie, once a maintenance engineer whose favorite tool to work with was a blowtorch, had the bright idea to build an actual forge by digging a pit off to the side near the edge of camp so that it wouldn't be in the way. It was large enough to hold a decent fire that was contained by bricks made from clay they dug up from a slow moving stream that wasn't good for drinking, leaving room for two people to work. A small thatch roof hut had been built around it to keep the heat in. Magnesium deposits that they'd found in some of the caves they'd taken shelter in made the fire burn hotter faster, which was good for heating and reshaping metal scavenged from the dropship.

Blondie's nickname was a misnomer, contradicted by her main of thick curly black hair that she wore pulled up into a high ponytail at the crown of her head. Few people knew what her real name was, and the only time she lost her annoyingly cheerful disposition was when somebody used it. The goggles she wore to protect her eyes from the heat were perched on her forehead, and she carried an ax that she'd made for herself strapped to her hip.

"Hey!" Blondie greeted them with her usual exuberance. "Glad you're here," she continued before either of them could respond, talking very fast with hardly a breath in between sentences, "I was working on something new. Wasn't sure if I'd have it ready, but it's ready. You're gonna love it."

Bellamy and Thalia exchanged a glance as she disappeared back inside. Bellamy asked uncertainly, "You sure Blondie knows what she's doing?"

Thalia understood his hesitance. Blondie's over-excitable nature didn't exactly inspire confidence in trusting her with dangerous tools. "She may be a hyperactive adrenaline junkie, but she's a lot smarter than she lets people think."

"If you say so," Bellamy decided to take her word for it on that one.

Blondie had been working on more complex weapons than simple swords and knives. She came back out of the forge carrying one of them now – a metal bar with two bands welded onto it at each end.

Bellamy took it. "This is..?"

"An arm-blade."

"How does it work?" asked Bellamy, looking over the device. His finger hit on the mechanism hidden in the bar and a sharpened spring-loaded blade shot out of the end of it. If the blade had been pointing towards him, he would have impaled himself.

"Maybe you wanna hear the instructions first," said Blondie, a laugh in her voice as she took it back from him. "The bands strap to your forearm to hold it in place. The straight bar is hollow and hides the blade until you're ready to use it." She showed them the hidden control that Bellamy pressed by accident. "Tap the switch and it releases the spring holding the blade back. Pull the tab on the other side to lock the blade back in place." She pulled back the small handle in the side, drawing back the spring and locking it in place so that the blade was once again hidden. "Simple enough."

"Let me see that," said Thalia. She rolled up the sleeve of her jacket so that she could strap the arm-blade to her arm and then rolled the sleeve down over it. It was easily hidden by her jacket and didn't feel too heavy. Blondie did good work. "Nice."

"Yes it is," Blondie said perkily. "Just never point it at yourself."

"It's too easy for accidents to happen," Thalia said thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?" Bellamy asked as they left the forge.

"I'm thinking about weapon control," said Thalia. "It's dangerous to have weapons floating around camp. I think the bows and swords should stay with the people who know how to use them."

Thalia herself carried the bow and quiver of arrows she'd claimed when they found the weapons. So did Annabeth. Those like Kayla Shumway and Rileigh Byrne carried their own swords; they'd been trained to use them on the Ark. But there were only a few of The 100 who'd been trained in any kind of weapons use.

"What our people need is training," said Bellamy. "We can start teaching others. We don't have enough weapons to go around, but the more people who at least have some practice on how to use them, the better. Who's our best archer?"

"Annabeth," Thalia answered promptly, "Or Alby. They can start training others on the practice range."

"Kayla's an officer. So was Rileigh," said Bellamy. He knew them from his own time in Guardsman training. "And they're both good with swords."

"Rileigh is more party-girl than soldier-girl. Kayla's good, but we already have her covering security," Thalia said thoughtfully. "Emily is the best fighter we have, hand to hand or with any weapon. And she has experience training others."

By now most of the camp had taken up calling Emily 'Warrior Princess'. That icy place she went to when she fought scared people. She showed enough restraint to keep from really hurting anyone, but everyone who went up against her to spar ended up getting knocked on their ass. Emily was easily the best in combat that they had in camp, and she probably would be an excellent teacher, except she wasn't interested in teaching. It was more like she just wanted to hit something. Emily wasn't much of a people person, even less so since Wells died.

"You think she will?" Bellamy asked skeptically. Emily was capable and highly skilled, but something everyone had picked up on was that she didn't take orders. And most often, she was best left alone.

"I think the amount of control anyone has over Emily Kane is…tenuous, at best," said Thalia. "But I'll ask Clarke to talk to her. She listens to her. Besides, I think she could use the distraction."

Bellamy understood; he felt the same worry as everyone else, though he tried not to show it. He'd actually liked Wells. In another life, they could have been friends…maybe. Fear of the grounders is what spurred on the work in camp, and the work distracted people from their fear, and from grief. Those who'd been friends with Wells probably needed the distraction more than most.

"Right now finishing the wall is top priority," said Bellamy as they neared the camp boundary.

"No argument there," said Thalia.

"How's it looking?" Bellamy asked Murphy as they came up to him. They looked out over the camp laid out before them. The wall was steadily being built section by section. They were halfway done. Trees around camp were being cleared to build the wall; when it was done they would have open ground between the wall and the tree line so that they would be able to see anything that got close.

"This section should be finished by tomorrow," Murphy answered, pointing to the area where logs were laid out lashed together waiting to be hoisted up into place.

"Good," said Thalia. "That will free up some of the workers for weapons training."

Bellamy nodded. Murphy cut a glance from Bellamy to Thalia. He hadn't heard anything about any weapons training. Over the last week, Bellamy had been talking to Thalia more and more, going over whatever plans they had together. Murphy didn't like being cut out of the loop.

"Thalia," Annabeth called from the gate, "Everyone's ready to go."

"On my way," said Thalia. As Annabeth walked away, Thalia turned back to Bellamy. "We'll go over the plan for weapons training when I get back." Bellamy nodded and watched Thalia walk towards the group that was ready to follow her out.

"Is her Highness running the show now?" Murphy sneered.

"Look, Thalia may be a pain in the ass, and she's bossy as hell…" Bellamy paused and looked out over their camp where groups of workers were focused on their tasks; they looked coordinated, organized, something that couldn't be said a week ago, "…But she knows how to get things done, I'll give her that."

XX

"So, the King and Queen are still playing nice?" Emily observed as Annabeth joined her and the rest of the scouting party by the gate.

"They seem to be," Annabeth replied.

"Uh huh," said Emily, watching Thalia and Bellamy talking to each other. "I'm betting another week tops before they're back to fighting again and we're right back where we started."

"I think you just miss watching them argue," said Annabeth with a slight laugh.

Emily shrugged; watching the rivalry between Thalia and Bellamy had been some entertainment at least. She turned away to survey the rest of the team that was heading out this morning.

The 100 had stayed fairly close to their camp while they made it more livable, but now they needed to familiarize themselves with the larger area surrounding them. The purpose of this expedition was to map out hiking and hunting trails, sheltered areas, water sources, and areas where any edible or useful plants grew. Emily was armed with her sword and the array of knives she kept hidden on her; Annabeth carried her bow and arrows; there was also Jones, who was a skilled navigator, and that guy Jason who was good with Earth Skills and who seemed to be Thalia's right hand man when she needed something done. Also a part of their group, and looking distinctly unhappy to be included in this venture, was Antonia Sinclair who carried a pack with some supplies but no weapons.

"Why is she coming along?" Emily asked nodding towards Antonia.

"She's been working non-stop on trying to contact the Ark," said Annabeth. "Thalia thought it would be a good idea for her to get out of camp for a while."

"Has Antonia actually left camp since we got here?" Emily asked.

Annabeth tipped her head to the side. "I don't think she's been more than thirty yards from the dropship since we got here."

They were both having similar thoughts of concern at that moment. The woods could be dangerous in and of themselves, and that was not counting the threat the natives posed; letting the Techno Freak who knew nothing of nature out into the wild might not end well. And speaking of things that didn't end well…There was one more member of the scouting party that had escaped first notice. A red-haired girl stood a small distance away from the rest of them, setting herself apart.

"Hey," said Octavia as she came up.

"Look who's being let off the leash," Emily said scathingly. Annabeth winced (she'd hoped that the resentment between Emily and Octavia might have lessened) as Octavia opened her mouth to make her own biting comment, but Emily help up a hand before she could speak, "I didn't mean you this time."

Curiously, Octavia followed Emily's line of sight to settle on the red-head. Octavia looked from Annabeth to Emily, picking up on the underlying tension they both held that had something to do with the red-head. "What's wrong with her?"

The girl looked innocuous enough at first glance. That was before Octavia noticed the knife in her hand that she was running her finger along the edge of to test its sharpness; before the girl looked up as if feeling eyes on her and met Octavia's stare. Then, something about her gave off the distinct impression that anyone who valued life wouldn't want her standing behind them with that knife. The girl's eyes shifted between the three of them and then onto the other members of the scouting party nearby, measuring, assessing, searching for threats…Or targets.

"I guess no one ever told you, _she_ is just like you," Emily said, her voice holding that taunting edge that she usually used with Octavia, "Except she didn't have that loving family to keep her from going nutso."

"What the hell does that mean?" Octavia asked.

"She's an Unregistered, like you," Annabeth explained. "They found her when she was a baby. Both her parents got floated; she got sent to the Care Center. They couldn't put an infant in the Skybox. She wasn't locked up like you but…everyone knew she was illegal. And they never let her forget it."

Growing up, Octavia had only ever known the kindness that her mother and brother showed her. When she'd been sent to the Skybox she'd learned how horrible people could be to someone who didn't belong. That red-haired girl was illegal too, and she'd had to deal with that discrimination her whole life, even without the stigma of being known as 'The Girl They Found Under The Floor'. Octavia didn't end up a basket case because, although she'd grown up hidden in isolation, she was always loved – in that regard at least, she'd been very lucky.

But what happened to someone who grew up without love?

"What are you doing here?" Thalia had finished her discussion with Bellamy and now stood facing Octavia.

"I wanted to see if you needed one more," said Octavia.

"I don't need you out there. You're not a hunter, you don't know how to use a weapon, and you don't know earth skills. Stay close to camp," said Thalia. Annabeth shot a look at her; tact was Thalia's style, not this bluntness. "The rest of you, let's move out."

Octavia shot Annabeth a _'what was that about'_ look. Annabeth just shrugged, seeming just as confused by Thalia's abruptness as she was. And it wasn't the first time Annabeth had seen Thalia act weird where Octavia was concerned. She'd thought before that it had to do with her rivalry with Bellamy, though that didn't quite make sense. Thalia handled the situation with Bellamy with ruthless clarity, yet around Octavia for some reason she seemed ill at ease. Annabeth shook her head, said goodbye to Octavia and followed the rest of the team out, leaving Octavia behind.

XXXXX

**On The Ark: Mecha Station – Restricted Level**

Luke watch as Raven worked on the escape pod and helped where he could, which was mostly handing her tools. Thankfully he was off duty and would not be missed for a while; no one had reason to come looking for him. Despite the rocky start in the way they met, the two had warmed up to each other; with the speed of a glacier maybe, but still. As Raven worked, they were also talking about the reasons they each had for wanting to go to Earth.

"So, you're risking all of this – rebuilding a hundred year old pod and risking being arrested, probably executed – just to see your boyfriend?" asked Luke. "He must be some guy."

"Even when I had nothing, I had Finn. He made that for me, for my 18th birthday," Raven pointed to her metal pendant shaped like a bird that she'd set on the table so that it wouldn't get in her way while she worked. Raven smiled at the memory, at the thought of seeing Finn again. "He's my family. My only family."

"Wow," said Luke. Raven was someone who rarely let her guard down and that was the first time he'd seen her smile. "That smile is like a ray of sunlight in this dismal place."

Raven looked at him, half annoyed, half amused, "Do you flirt with everyone?"

"Absolutely everyone," Luke said solemnly. Then they both laughed. "I know how you feel Bird," Luke said pulling off the chain he wore with Thalia's locket on it. He opened both sides of it and held it out to Raven. "My family is down there too."

Raven took the locket and smiled at the picture of the three children in the middle slot. The young boy in the middle of the picture was clearly Luke. It figured he'd always been that handsome; only boys who have been handsome from a young age have that kind of arrogance in their smile. Raven looked at Luke now and was surprised to see the same thing in him that she had been seeing in the mirror over the last week: hope, of seeing the person he cared about most again, and fear that they would fail. When they first met, Raven had taken him for any other jerk guard. Later when he had blackmailed his way into coming with her and Abby to Earth, he dropped the serious loyal guard persona. She _still_ thought he was a cocky, arrogant jerk sometimes. But beneath the swagger, he wanted the same thing that she did: to be with those he loved.

"You were a cute kid," she teased. Luke chuckled. "Who are the others? Is one of them your girlfriend?"

"Thalia," said Luke, pointing to the girl with the short cut dark hair. "That locket's hers. The other two pictures are her parents." Raven glances at the pictures on either side of the one with the three smiling children. One was of a beautiful woman with wavy light brown hair; the other was of a dark haired man who looked vaguely familiar. "And she's not exactly my girlfriend."

"Really?" Raven asked. "She either is or she isn't. What's so exact or not exact about it?"

Luke just shrugged and took the locket back from Raven. "It's a long story."

"Who's the other girl?" Raven asked, getting back to work, "Another 'not exactly' girlfriend?"

"That's Annabeth," Luke said affectionately, "She's like my little sister."

At that moment the door opened and they both tensed. Their lighthearted verbal sparring aside, neither one of them was unaware of the enormous risk they were taking, and it kept them on high alert. They relaxed again when they saw that it was Dr. Griffin.

"Hey Abby," said Luke, still surprised to find himself on a first name basis with a Council member. "Kane bought the outbreak story you gave me, but you should still keep your head down, just in case…" Luke stopped, seeing the look on Abby's face, "What's up?"

"How soon can you have the pod ready to launch?" Abby aimed her question at Raven.

"I'm still scraping together parts to fabricate a pressure regulator," Raven said as she ducked her head under the control consul, focused on her work. "We got two more days, right?"

"Can we launch without that part?" Abby asked pointedly, pacing across the room.

"We can launch – plyers –" Raven held out her hand and Luke handed her the plyers, "–But we'd be dead before we get to the ground. And I'm talking bad dead: air bubbles in the brain, ruptured lungs…We need that part."

Abby was still pacing back and forth across the room like she couldn't stay still until Luke stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?" he asked, "Did something change?"

Abby stared at him without seeing him. "Clarke's wristband signal went out."

Raven's head popped back up above the control panel; she and Luke both looked at Abby, her dread suddenly becoming contagious. What they were all fearing most in this situation – above being arrested and executed, or the pod failing and dying on the way down – was that they would be too late, that they would get to Earth only to find that the people they came for were already dead.

"Yeah…but that doesn't mean anything," Raven said as she climbed out of the pod. "She took it off like the rest of them."

Abby didn't look reassured; she looked lost, like she didn't know what to do or what to think. And considering that it was her conviction that had started them on this path and carried them this far, it was more than a little disconcerting to see her like that.

"Okay," said Raven, her voice hardening. "I can get a pressure regulator. Today."

"What are you going to do?" Abby asked as Raven grabbed her red jacket and headed for the door. Raven had a kind of look in her eye that made Abby unsure of whether or not she should be worried.

"The less you know the better," said Raven as she walked out, determined to get that pressure regulator and knowing who she would have to deal with to get it. This was not going to be fun.

Abby ran her hand over her forehead. She was asking a lot of Raven she knew; asking both her and Luke to risk a lot. Her belief that Clarke and the rest of the 100 were alive and well was threatening to be overwhelmed by a sense of dread. And all the while she had Kane breathing down her neck, and the council vote to reduce population in just two days… Abby was startled out of her downward spiral of worry when Luke put a hand on her arm.

"If Raven says she can do it, she'll do it. We'll get to Earth, and we'll find Clarke and the others," he said steadily.

Abby nodded, grateful that someone was keeping a cool head. Luke was right; she had to focus on what she needed to do to accomplish their objective. Raven would get the pod ready to launch, but there were still other concerns to take care of. "Luke could you..."

"Keep an eye on Kane and Shumway to make sure that they don't get suspicious?" Luke finished for her, anticipating her concern. "No problem."

XXXXX

**On The Ground: The 100's Camp**

Octavia wished that she could have gone out with the scouting party – she loved seeing every new thing that Earth had to offer – but Bellamy with his overprotectiveness wanted to keep her close to camp, and Thalia, who was leading the team…didn't seem to want her around. Thalia had never shown any hostility towards Octavia, even when she and Bellamy were against each other – she barely said anything to her at all – and you'd think with the truce in camp that any hostility she did have would have died, but Thalia had seemed almost angry when Octavia asked to join the scouting trip.

Thalia was a hard person to figure out.

Anyway, Octavia had her own mission to accomplish today: Getting Jasper to set foot outside the camp without shaking in his shoes.

She'd checked with Clarke who, as the camps medical expert, had given Jasper the go-ahead to get out of bed and move around. He still had to take it easy so that he didn't aggravate his wound, but Clarke said that some exercise would be good for him. And Octavia thought that getting out would get him to shake off some of the nervous anxiety that hung over him like a cloud. He'd already delayed for an hour by walking around the camp three times. Now Octavia guided him gently but firmly towards the gate.

"Look, we're already there." She allowed Jasper's hand to slip out of hers as she stepped through the opening. "Just a few more steps, ok?" she took exaggerated steps going further from the gate, trying to both lesson the tension and lead by example, "One foot in front of the other."

Octavia looked back to see Jasper still standing in the frame of the gate looking up at the trees, his hand resting against the wound in his chest. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Jasper's attention snapped back to her. He swallowed. "Oh, n-nothing. I'm good."

Jasper did a poor job of hiding his nerves; he still hadn't taken the step that would take him out of camp. The wall, meager defense though it was, gave some sense of security in a world that was in no way secure. It didn't help that they were near the spot where Wells had been killed while on watch. Outside, there were monsters. And inside – well, better the monsters you knew…

"Jasper, it's been a week," Octavia said. She turned and kept walking further out. "You've been given a second chance. You gotta use it." As she came level with the tree line something reached out and grabbed her, pulling her out of sight. "Aahhh!"

"Octavia?" Jasper exclaimed. A muffled shout answered him. "Octavia!" Jasper glanced back, thinking he should go for help but there was no time, Octavia was in trouble now! As much as his feet wanted to stay glued to the spot, he forced them to move forward. "Octavia are you okay?!"

As he came to the spot where she disappeared, someone jumped out at him with a shout, "Aahhh!"

"Jerk!" Octavia shouted as John Mbege let her go and she shoved him away, "Get the hell out of here!"

Jasper felt the shaking in his hands, the cold sweat on his skin, and the churning in his gut…He turned back towards camp, just wanting to get back to his bed in the dropship.

"Jasper, come on," Octavia called after him. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

In his hurry to get back inside, Jasper tripped. When he didn't get back up right away, Octavia rushed over to him to check on him, to make sure he hadn't strained his wound and hurt himself. She knelt down next to him and then froze, both of them looking at evidence that there was indeed something to be afraid of: two severed fingers lying on the ground next to a discarded knife.

Jasper resisted the urge to throw up.

XXXXX

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**Author's note:** I deeply apologize for the very long wait for an update in this and my other stories. I will try to update regularly and I ask for review and comment to let me know what you think of the direction of the story.

\- Why do you think Thalia acts differently around Octavia that she does with everyone else?

\- What do you think could happen between Emily and Santos?

\- Who is the red-haired girl? What is her story? What about her sets everyone on edge?

**Please give me your thought on these questions.**

The song lyrics in this chapter are from _You're Safe_ by Rachel Platten, and _Problem_ by Arianna Grande feat. Iggy Azalea.

will try to update this story regularly. Please comment and review as reviews inspire updates.

.

Please also take a look at my other stories. Other stories that I have begun, for The 100 as well as other books/movies, include:

\- 'Teresa, Warrior In Training', which is a companion story to this about Lincoln's little sister

\- 'The Queen Of Beasts' based on the 2012 TV Series Beauty and the Beast

\- 'The New Beginning Of Bree Cullen' based on the Twilight Saga, telling the continued story of young vampire Bree is she'd lived after Eclipse

\- 'The Making Of The Marauders' based on the Harry Potter series, telling the story of when the four Marauders (James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin &amp; Peter Petigrew) were in school.


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